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THE  MILLINERY  TRADE 

IN  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA 


A  STUDY  OF  WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 


F£S 


2  3  1917 


A  ItHBfriatum 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  BRYN  MAWR  COLLEGE  IN 
PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 
THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

LORINDA  PERRY 


PRESS  OF 

THE  V AIL-B ALLOU  COMPANY,  BINGHAMTON,  NEW  YORK 


Copyright ,  1916 ,  6y 

WOMEN’S  EDUCATIONAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  UNION 

Boston,  Mass. 


The  Vail-Ballou,  Co.,  Printers,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 


25JM7CIS  ' 


PAGES 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I— INTRODUCTION 

The  problem  of  women  in  industry — Colonial  point  of  view — 

New  attitude — Minimum  wage  laws  and  industrial  train¬ 
ing — Importance  of  millinery  as  a  trade  for  women — 

Statistics  for  Boston  and  Philadelphia .  1-11 

CHAPTER  II— DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MILLINERY 
TRADE  AND  OF  ITS  PROCESSES 

Characteristics  of  the  trade — Parasitic  nature — Requirements 
that  workers  live  at  home — Seasonal  character  of  the  in¬ 
dustry — Small  proportion  of  highly  paid  workers — Large 
supply  of  workers — Social  prestige  of  millinery — De¬ 
scription  of  processes — Division  of  work — System  of 
apprenticeship — Trimmers  and  designers — Extent  of  em¬ 
ployment — Opportunity  for  advancement .  12-26 

CHAPTER  III— CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS  ACCORD¬ 
ING  TO  STAGES  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION 

Classes  of  millinery  establishments — Private  or  home  millinery 
— Parlor  millinery — Problem  of  credit — The  millinery 
store — Size  of  workroom  force — Millinery  department  of 
a  department  store — Competition  among  milliners — 

Wholesale  millinery — Wholesale  manufacturing  millinery  27-43 

CHAPTER  IV— THE  SEASONS  AND  THEIR 

PROBLEMS 

Retail  seasons — Rush  work — Dull  season — Fluctuations  in 
size  of  workroom  force — Problem  of  unemployment — 

Length  of  season  for  workers — Relation  of  experience  to 
length  of  employment — “Speeding  up”  and  overtime — 
Suggestions  for  abolishing  overtime — Dissatisfaction  of 
workers  with  seasons — Supplementary  occupations — 

Chronic  over-supply  of  labor .  44-68 

CHAPTER  V— WAGES 

Time  and  piece  wages — Wages  of  apprentices — Total  annual 
earnings  of  workers — Nominal  and  average  weekly  wages 
of  workers — Wage  of  piece  rate  workers — Nominal  and 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGES 

average  wage  of  trimmers — Average  weekly  wage 
throughout  the  year — Relation  of  employment  and  ex¬ 
perience  to  wage .  69-92 

CHAPTER  VI— MILLINERY  WORKERS 

Nationality  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers — Age  of 
workers — Educational  standards — Age  at  leaving  school 
— Preliminary  occupations — Extent  of  self-support 
among  workers — Living  conditions . 93-104 

CHAPTER  VII— WAYS  OF  LEARNING  MILLINERY 

The  Apprenticeship  System — 

Unwillingness  of  employers  to  train  apprentices — Danger 
of  exploitation — Qualifications  demanded  of  appren¬ 
tices — Age  preferred — Length  of  apprenticeship — 

Wages  of  learners — Economic  waste  of  system  .  .  105-115 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


TABLE  PAGE 

1.  Comparison  of  the  millinery  trade  of  Boston,  Philadelphia, 

New  York  and  Chicago . 7 

2.  Specified  occupations  of  the  population,  10  years  of  age  and 

over,  of  Boston  and  of  Philadelphia . 9 

3.  Extent  of  employment  in  each  occupation  during  the  busy 

season  in  97  Boston  millinery  establishments  ....  24 

4.  Extent  of  employment  in  each  occupation  during  the  busy 

season  in  94  Philadelphia  millinery  establishments  ...  25 

5.  Size  of  workroom  force  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  millinery 


stores . 35 

6.  Size  of  the  workroom  force  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  de¬ 

partment  and  women’s  wear  stores . 39 

7.  Reduction  in  size  of  workroom  force  during  the  dull  season 

in  Boston . 47 

8.  Reduction  in  size  of  workroom  force  during  the  dull  season 

in  Philadelphia . .  .  47 

9.  Fluctuation,  week  by  week,  in  size  of  workroom  force  in  8 

Boston  establishments  for  the  year  1912 . 48 


10.  Length  of  employment  in  the  year  1912  for  workers  in  5 

Boston  retail  establishments . 51 

11.  Length  of  employment  in  a  year  of  103  Boston  workers,  classi¬ 

fied  by  occupation  and  type  of  establishment . 54 

12.  Length  of  employment  in  the  year  1912  for  100  Philadelphia 

workers,  classified  by  occupation  and  type  of  establishment  55 

13.  Length  of  employment  by  weeks  in  the  year  1912  of  140  Bos¬ 

ton  workers,  classified  by  occupation  and  by  type  of  estab¬ 


lishment  . 56 

14.  Length  of  employment  by  months  in  the  year  1912  for  133 

Boston  workers,  classified  by  occupation  and  by  type  of 
establishment . 57 

15.  Effect  of  experience  on  length  of  employment  during  the  year. 

Boston . 57 


TABLE 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


PAGE 


16.  Length  of  employment  by  weeks  in  the  spring  and  fall  sea¬ 

sons  of  the  year  1912,  for  workers  in  5  Boston  retail  estab¬ 
lishments,  classified  by  occupation . 60 

17.  Effect  of  experience  on  length  of  employment  during  the 

year.  Philadelphia . 61 


18.  Nominal  weekly  wages  received  by  35  Boston  apprentices, 

classified  according  to  type  of  establishment . 71 

19.  Total  annual  earnings  of  120  Boston  workers,  classified  by  oc¬ 

cupation  and  type  of  establishment . 72 

20.  Total  annual  earnings  of  91  Boston  makers . 72 

21.  Nominal  weekly  wages  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  makers. 

Cumulative  statement . 73 

22.  Nominal  weekly  wages  of  Boston  makers,  classified  by  type  of 

establishment . 74 

23.  Nominal  weekly  wages  of  Philadelphia  makers,  classified  by 

type  of  establishment . 75 

24.  Average  weekly  wages  of  173  Boston  makers.  Cumulative 

statement . 75 

25.  Average  weekly  wages  of  173  Boston  makers,  classified  by 

type  of  establishment . 77 

26.  Average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year  of  Boston  makers 

classified  by  type  of  establishment . 77 

27.  Average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year  of  Boston  makers. 

Cumulative  statement . 80 

28.  Comparison  of  the  nominal  weekly  wages,  the  average  weekly 

wages,  and  the  average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year 
of  Boston  makers . 80 

29.  Complete  pay  rolls  of  7  Boston  pieceworkers  for  the  year 

1912 . . . .  81 

30.  Nominal  weekly  wages  of  trimmers  in  Boston  and  Philadel¬ 

phia,  classified  by  type  of  establishment . 82 

31.  Total  annual  earnings  of  29  Boston  trimmers . 83 

32.  Nominal  weekly  wages  of  trimmers.  Cumulative  statement  83 

33.  Average  weekly  wages  of  53  Boston  trimmers.  Cumulative 


statement . 83 

34.  Average  weekly  wages  of  53  Boston  trimmers,  classified  by 

type  of  establishment . 84 

35.  Average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year  of  29  Boston 

trimmers.  Cumulative  statement . 84 

36.  Average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year  of  29  Boston 

trimmers,  classified  by  type  of  establishment . 87 


TABLE 


LIST  OP  TABLES 


PAGE 

37.  Comparison  of  the  nominal  weekly  wages,  the  average  weekly 

wages,  and  the  average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year 
received  by  Boston  trimmers . 87 

38.  Relation  of  employment  to  nominal  weekly  wages  of  120 

Boston  workers,  classified  by  occupation . 88 

39.  Relation  between  nominal  weekly  wages  and  length  of  experi¬ 

ence  of  makers  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  retail  estab¬ 
lishments  . 89 

40.  Relation  between  nominal  weekly  wages  and  length  of  ex¬ 

perience  of  trimmers  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  retail 
establishments  . 90 

41.  Nationality  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers,  classified  by 

occupation  . 94 

42.  Nationality  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers,  classified  by 

employment  in  wholesale  or  retail  establishments  ...  94 

43.  Age  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers,  classified  by  occupa¬ 

tion  . 96 

44.  Age  and  nationality  of  100  Boston  workers . 97 

45.  Age  and  nationality  of  119  Philadelphia  workers  .  .  .  .97 

46.  Education  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers . 99 

47.  Age  at  which  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers  leave  school  100 

48.  Extent  of  self-support  among  Boston  and  Philadelphia  work¬ 


ers,  classified  by  occupation . 102 

49.  Living  conditions  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers,  classi¬ 

fied  by  occupation . 103 

50.  Ways  in  which  Boston  and  Philadelphia  workers  learned 

millinery . 106 

51.  Employment  of  apprentices  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  .  .  110 


52.  Age  at  which  111  Boston  and  115  Philadelphia  workers  began 

millinery,  classified  according  to  methods  of  entering  the 
trade . 110 

53.  Age  at  which  Boston  and  Philadelphia  employers  prefer  ap¬ 

prentices  . Ill 

54.  Wages  received  as  apprentices  at  specified  ages  by  Boston 

and  Philadelphia  workers . 114 


LIST  OF  CHARTS 


CHART  PAGE 

I.  Weekly  fluctuation  in  size  of  workroom  force  of  three 

Boston  department  stores  and  two  millinery  parlors  .  .  50 

II.  Weekly  fluctuation  in  size  of  workroom  force  of  two  Boston 
wholesale  establishments  and  the  total  force  of  three  de¬ 
partment  stores . 52 

III.  Weekly  fluctuation  in  wages  received  by  three  Boston  piece 

rate  workers . 79 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR 

WOMEN 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

The  problem  of  women  in  industry,  that  is,  in  gainful  occu¬ 
pations  as  distinguished  from  the  unremunerated  work  per¬ 
formed  in  the  home,  is  by  no  means  a  new  one  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  as  old  as  the  Union  itself.  The  comparatively 
new  element  is  the  present  attitude  of  the  public.  General 
opinion  on  this  question  has  varied  at  different  periods,  in¬ 
fluenced  by  the  industrial  conditions  of  the  times.  Throughout 
its  history  three  problems  have  been  emphasized.  All  of  them 
have  been  present  at  various  times  and  at  the  same  time,  but 
the  emphasis  has  been  placed  now  on  one  phase,  now  on  another. 

The  colonial  point  of  view  that  women  were  “  collateral  la¬ 
borers  ’  ’  and  that  factories  afforded  employment  for  a  group  that 
might  otherwise  be  idle,  is  expressed  by  Alexander  Hamilton  in 
his  Report  on  Manufactures,  communicated  to  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives,  December  5,  1791. 

“  Besides  this  advantage  of  occasional  employment  to  classes 
having  different  occupations,  there  is  another,  of  a  nature  allied 
to  it,  and  of  a  similar  tendency.  This  is  the  employment  of 
persons  who  would  otherwise  be  idle,  and  in  many  cases  a  bur¬ 
then  on  the  community,  either  from  the  bias  of  temper,  habit, 
infirmity  of  body,  or  some  other  cause,  indisposing  or  disqualify¬ 
ing  them  for  the  toils  of  the  country.  It  is  worthy  of  particular 
remark  that,  in  general,  women  and  children  are  rendered  more 
useful,  and  the  latter  more  early  useful,  by  manufacturing  estab¬ 
lishments,  than  they  would  otherwise  be.  ’ 9 1 

1  The  Works  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  edited  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge.  12 
vols.  New  York,  1904.  Vol.  IV,  p.  91. 


2 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


As  the  increasing  use  of  machinery  in  production  gradually 
made  possible  the  substitution  of  the  unskilled  labor  of  women 
for  the  more  skilled  labor  of  men,  emphasis  was  changed  from 
the  usefulness  of  manufactures  in  affording  employment  for 
“otherwise  idle  persons”  to  the  supposed  competition  of  women 
with  men  and  to  the  evil  effects  of  such  rivalry  upon  the  wages, 
hours  and  general  conditions  of  men ’s  labor.  This  point  of  view 
characterized  much  of  the  trade-union  arguments  in  the  United 
States  during  the  thirties  and  forties.  The  report  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  on  female  labor  of  the  National  Trades’  Union  conven¬ 
tion  of  1836  contains  the  following:  “These  evils  themselves 
(of  the  effect  of  female  labor  on  the  health  and  morals  of  the 
workers)  are  great,  and  call  loudly  for  a  speedy  cure;  but  still 
another  objection  to  the  system  arises,  which,  if  possible,  is 
productive  of  the  other  evils,  namely,  the  ruinous  competition 
brought  in  active  opposition  to  male  labor,  actually  producing 
a  reversion  of  the  very  good  intended  to  do  the  guardian  or 
parent,  causing  the  destruction  of  the  end  which  it  aims  to 
benefit  ;  because,  when  the  employer  finds,  as  he  surely  will, 
that  female  assistance  will  compress  his  ends,  of  course  the  work¬ 
man  is  discharged,  or  reduced  to  a  corresponding  rate  of  wages 
with  the  female  operative.  ’  ’ 1  Thus  the  question  of  women ’s 
labor  was  treated  as  subsidiary  to  the  greater  and  more  impor¬ 
tant  one  of  men’s  labor. 

The  recognition  that  women  and  men  form  non-competing 
groups  in  industry  has  transferred  the  emphasis  from  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  evil  competition  of  women  with  men,  to  the  broader 
social  problem — the  effect  of  women’s  labor  upon  women,  the 
family  and  society.  A  new  movement  has  arisen  the  object 
of  which  is  to  remedy  the  existing  evils  as  to  hours,  wages  and 
conditions  of  labor  of  women  and  children  and  to  raise  as  far 
as  possible  the  standard  of  industry  of  the  workingwoman.  It 
may  be  compared  to  that  of  the  early  thirties  and  forties  which 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  our  modern  trade-unions  to  remedy 
existing  evils,  with,  however,  this  difference — the  early  move¬ 
ment  originated  with  the  worker  himself,  in  revolt  against 

1  A  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society,  edited  by  John 
R.  Commons  and  others.  10  vols.  Cleveland,  Ohio,  1910.  Vol.  VI,  p.  282. 


INTRODUCTION 


3 


laissez-faire  methods  and  theories;  the  present  movement  has 
its  origin  in  the  awakening  of  society  to  the  social  consequences 
of  woman’s  labor.  The  earlier  movement  was  the  result  of 
speculation  as  to  the  ‘  ‘  natural  rights  ’  ’  of  man  as  an  individual ; 
the  later  movement  rests  upon  the  theory  of  the  ‘‘natural  rights” 
of  society  as  a  whole. 

The  new  attitude  is  reflected  in  the  feeling  that  since  the 
problem  of  women  in  industry  is  one  which  vitally  affects  not 
only  the  family  but  also  society  itself,  the  latter  is  justified  in 
prescribing  the  conditions  under  which  women  and  children 
shall  work — that  is,  in  limiting  the  terms  of  the  labor  contract. 
Three  main  provisions  are  a  part  of  every  contract,  the  physical 
conditions  under  which  the  work  is  performed,  the  hours  of  la¬ 
bor  and  the  rate  of  wages.  The  State  provides  for  the  first  by 
laws  regulating  sanitary  conditions  of  labor,  which  apply  to 
men  and  women  alike.  The  second  provision  is  covered  by 
laws  regulating  and  limiting  the  hours  of  labor,  applying  only 
to  a  limited  extent  to  men.  The  right  of  the  State  to  regulate 
hours  of  labor  affecting  women  and  children  is  now  generally 
conceded,  yet  such  laws  have  been  declared  constitutional  only 
within  the  last  two  decades. 

The  first  law  regulating  the  hours  of  labor  of  women  and 
children  was  passed  by  the  state  of  Massachusetts  in  1874, 1  and 
was  declared  constitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  in  1876.  Further  legislation  of  this  sort  received  a 
severe  setback  in  1895  by  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court  in  the  case 
of  Ritchie  v.  The  People  (155  Ill.  98),  which  declared  uncon¬ 
stitutional  the  law  restricting  the  hours  of  labor  of  women 
and  girls.2  The  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  in  1907  in  the  case  Curt  Muller  v.  Oregon  (208  U.  S. 
412)  definitely  settled  the  question  of  constitutionality  in  favor 
of  restriction.  Whereupon  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  in 
1910  reversed  its  former  decision  and  in  the  case  of  Ritchie  v. 

1  Labor  Laws  and  their  Enforcement,  with  special  reference  to  Massachu¬ 
setts,  by  Charles  E.  Persons,  Mabel  Parton,  Mabelle  Moses,  and  Three 
“Fellows.”  (Longmans,  Green  and  Co.,  1911.)  P.  123;  Senate  Document, 
No.  33,  1874. 

2  Kelley,  Florence.  Some  Ethical  Gains  Through  Legislation.  New 
York,  1905.  P.  136  ff. 


4 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


Way  man  (244  Ill.  509)  declared  constitutional  legislation  re¬ 
stricting  the  hours  of  labor  of  women  and  children.  These  two 
cases  illustrate  the  new  position.  They  were  pleaded  and  de¬ 
cided  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  right  of  society  to  pro¬ 
tect  itself  by  prescribing  the  conditions  under  which  women  may 
work.  The  period  of  fifteen  years  intervening  between  the  two 
Ritchie  cases  may  be  considered  as  a  transitional  period  in  which 
the  question  of  women  in  industry  came  to  be  recognized  as 
primarily  a  social  problem. 

The  present  agitation  for  minimum  wage  laws  is  an  attempt 
to  regulate  by  statute  the  third  provision  of  the  labor  contract. 
The  minimum  wage  law  alone  is  not  a  solution,  but  should  be 
supplemented  by  industrial  training  for  girls  and  intelligent 
guidance  into  suitable  industries.  Industrial  training  for  girls 
originated  with  the  realization  that  women’s  presence  in  in¬ 
dustry  is  inevitable  and,  therefore,  that  girls  as  well  as  boys 
must  be  fitted  for  labor.  Minimum  wage  agitation  will  neces¬ 
sarily  prove  a  great  stimulus  to  the  movement  for  industrial 
education  for  if  society  sets  the  lower  limit  of  wages,  society 
must  provide  some  means  of  making  woman’s  labor  worth  it. 
Vocational  guidance  in  minimizing  the  economic  waste  due  to 
the  shifting  of  young  workers  from  one  industry  to  another,  is 
of  value  in  supplementing  any  system  of  industrial  education. 

All  these  reforms  must  be  based  upon  a  thorough  and  adequate 
knowledge  of  the  actual  conditions  of  women  at  work.  This 
need  is  being  met  by  a  number  of  studies  dealing  with  the  prob¬ 
lem  both  in  the  past  and  in  the  present.  Interest  has  been  cen¬ 
tered  primarily  in  the  factory  girl,  probably  because  factory 
work  for  women  seemed  a  more  radical  departure  from  their 
traditional  sphere.  Women’s  trades  have  been  neglected.  Yet 
in  these  trades  the  problems  and  characteristics  of  women  at  work 
are  reduced  to  their  simplest  terms,  with  no  complicating  ques¬ 
tion  of  competition  with  men.  A  study  of  the  millinery  trade 
should  be  of  peculiar  value,  therefore,  to  minimum  wage  boards, 
to  the  directors  of  trade  schools  for  girls,  to  vocational  advisers 
in  employment  bureaus  and  public  schools,  and  especially  to 
those  interested  in  the  increasing  body  of  legislation  affecting 
women. 


INTRODUCTION 


5 


The  millinery  trade  is  defined  as  the  designing,  manufactur¬ 
ing  by  hand  and  sale  of  women’s  hats.  This  definition  excludes 
such  trades  as  flower  making,  straw  machine  operating  and 
the  making  of  wire  frames  by  machinery,  which  may  be 
classified  more  accurately  as  the  manufacture  of  millinery  sup¬ 
plies. 

Some  indication  of  the  rank  and  importance  of  millinery  as  a 
trade  for  women  may  be  found  in  the  special  report  of  the 
Federal  Census  Bureau,  “Statistics  of  Women  at  Work,  1900.” 
“At  the  census  of  1900  there  were  82,936  women  reported  as 
milliners  in  continental  United  States,  and  the  occupation  was 
fourteenth  in  rank  among  the  pursuits  in  which  women  are  en¬ 
gaged  as  breadwinners.  Millinery  is  preeminently  a  woman’s 
occupation,  94.4  per  cent  of  all  the  milliners  being  women. 
Only  two  occupations  had  a  larger  proportion  of  women — that 
of  dressmaker,  with  97.5  per  cent  and  that  of  housekeeper  and 
stewardess,  with  94.7  per  cent.  These  three  occupations  and 
that  of  seamstress,  with  91.9  per  cent,  were  the  only  ones  in 
which  women  constituted  over  nine-tenths  of  all  persons  em¬ 
ployed.”  “In  addition  to  the  women  engaged  as  milliners, 
3,184  girls  from  10  to  15  years  of  age  were  so  employed.  Thus 
the  total  number  of  female  milliners  was  86,120  or  98  per  cent 
of  all  the  milliners.  ’  ’ 1 

Literature  upon  the  millinery  trade  in  the  United  States  is 
limited.  Miss  Butler’s  Women  and  the  Trades  gives  an  ex¬ 
cellent  account  of  wholesale  millinery  in  Pittsburgh.  The 
United  States  Census  reports  and  the  various  State  reports 
furnish  a  few  statistics,  but  on  the  whole  there  is  little  accurate 
information  about  the  conditions  of  the  trade  in  general.  The 
federal  census  of  1900  was  the  last  to  obtain  statistics  upon 
custom  millinery.  In  Volume  VII  (Volume  on  Manufactures, 
part  1  pp.  XXXVIII-XL)  a  recommendation  is  made  to  ex¬ 
clude  from  the  census  thereafter,  reports  on  the  hand  trades 
because  of  the  enormous  expenses,  difficulties  and  inaccuracies 
involved  in  the  collection  of  such  data.  This  recommenda¬ 
tion  was  acted  upon  and  the  canvass  for  the  federal  census  of 
manufactures  of  1905  did  not  include  neighborhood  industries 

i  United  States  Census,  Statistics  of  Women  at  Work ,  1900,  p.  75. 


6 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


and  hand  trades.1  The  Massachusetts  State  Bureau  of  Statis¬ 
tics  in  the  census  of  Massachusetts  of  1905,  also  abandoned  the 
collection  of  such  data.2 

Millinery  statistics  of  the  Federal  Census  of  1900  and  1910, 
and  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Census  Reports,  including  data 
as  to  some  wholesale  establishments,  cover  chiefly  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  millinery  supplies  and  of  lace  goods.  The  Annual 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs,  Bureau  of  Industrial 
Statistics  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  contains  no  statistics 
whatever  as  to  the  millinery  trade  in  that  State  or  in  Philadel¬ 
phia.  A  statistical  study  of  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
millinery  trade  in  Boston  and  in  Philadelphia  is  therefore  im¬ 
possible. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  accurately  what  proportion  of  the 
trade  of  Boston  and  of  Philadelphia  is  represented  in  this  study. 
The  figures  from  “Statistics  of  Women  at  Work,  1900/ ’  are 
hardly  comparable  as  they  are  based  upon  the  number  of  mil¬ 
liners  actually  living  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  while  the 
figures  of  this  study  are  based  upon  milliners  employed  in  the 
two  cities.  The  only  other  source  from  which  statistics  may  be 
drawn  is  Volume  VIII  of  the  Twelfth  Federal  Census,  on  Manu¬ 
factures.  These  were  secured  in  1900,  and  can  only  be  used 
as  indicating  the  probable  relative  position  of  the  millinery 

1  “The  census  of  1905  was  the  first  in  which  the  canvass  was  confined  to 
establishments  conducted  under  what  is  known  as  the  factory  system,  thus 
excluding  the  neighborhood  industries  and  hand  trades.  The  statistics  for 
these  mechanical  trades  have  been  a  confusing  element  in  the  census  of 
manufactures,  and  their  omission  makes  it  possible  to  present  the  data  of 
the  true  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country. 

“Reports  were  not  secured  from  small  establishments  in  which  manu¬ 
facturing  was  incidental  to  mercantile  or  other  business;  from  establish¬ 
ments  in  which  the  value  of  the  products  for  the  year  amounted  to  less 
than  $500.  .  .  .  Certain  industries,  such  as  custom  millinery,  custom  tail¬ 
oring,  dressmaking,  .  .  .  were  wholly  omitted.” 

United  States  Census  of  Manufactures,  1905,  Part  II,  Introduction,  p.  1. 

2  “Experience  in  former  censuses  in  gathering  data  of  the  hand  trades 
and  neighborhood  industries,  so-called, — such  as  dressmaking,  millinery, 
carpentry,  blacksmithing,  etc., — resulted  in  the  conviction  that  the  presenta¬ 
tion  of  such  statistics  led  to  confusion  and  might  better  be  omitted  from 
the  canvass.  In  this  view,  the  United  States  Census  office  coincided,  join¬ 
ing  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  in  an  agreement  to  confine  the  statistics  of 
Manufactures  entirely  to  factory  or  mill  industries  in  the  operation  of 
which  hand  power  does  not  enter  or  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.”  Census 
of  Massachusetts,  1905,  Vol.  Ill,  Introduction,  pp.  x-xi. 


INTRODUCTION 


7 


8 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


trade  of  various  cities.  New  York  City  ranked  first  in  impor¬ 
tance,  Chicago  second,  Philadelphia  third  and  Boston  fourth  in 
1900,  according  to  Table  1.  New  York  seems  to  have  kept  the 
lead  in  the  millinery  trade  of  the  United  States  according  to 
the  statements  of  employers  and  employees  of  Boston  and  Phila¬ 
delphia,  who  concede  to  the  latter  city  the  credit  of  having  the 
largest  single  manufacturing  millinery  establishment  in  the 
United  States.  In  total  number  of  establishments  (custom 
millinery  and  millinery  and  lace  goods)  Philadelphia  and  Bos¬ 
ton  are  about  even,  but  Philadelphia  employs  more  than  twice  as 
much  capital  for  all  establishments  and  half  again  as  many  em¬ 
ployees  as  Boston.  Philadelphia  millinery  and  lace  establish¬ 
ments,  also,  employ  a  greater  amount  of  capital  and  a  larger 
number  of  wage-earners  than  do  the  Boston  establishments. 

Perhaps  no  trade  or  form  of  industry  reflects  to  such  an  in¬ 
timate  degree  the  predominating  social  and  economic  character¬ 
istics  of  a  community  as  does  a  fashion  trade.  It  not  only  re¬ 
flects  the  taste  and  idiosyncrasies  of  its  customers,  but  to  a  very 
great  extent  it  serves  as  a  gauge  of  their  incomes.  People  who 
are  fastidious  demand  seclusion  when  selecting  hats  as  well  as 
quality  in  materials  and  unique  styles.  This  must  be  paid  for, 
so  that  the  degree  of  fastidiousness  is  limited  very  largely  by 
the  economic  status.  The  millinery  establishments  of  Boston 
and  Philadelphia  show  many  of  the  well-recognized  idiosyncra¬ 
sies  and  characteristics  of  the  population  of  the  cities  in  which 
they  are  situated.  Boston  refuses  to  accept  Paris  and  New 
York  fashions  as  final,  and  demands  that  these  styles  be  “Bos- 
tonized.”  Consequently,  a  large  number  of  millinery  parlors 
are  to  be  found  in  that  city  where  foreign  styles  are  modified  and 
adapted  to  Boston  ideas — a  class  of  establishments  rarely  found 
in  Philadelphia.1  The  fairly  even  distribution  of  the  various 
types  of  millinery  establishments  in  Boston  points  also  to  the 
well-known  fact  that  Boston,  being  preeminently  a  commercial 
city,  has  no  one  predominant  occupation  group  with  well  de¬ 
fined  standards.2 

A  study  of  Philadelphia  millinery  establishments  points  to  two 

1  For  classification  of  establishments,  see  Chapter  III. 

2  See  Shadwell,  Arthur,  Industrial  Efficiency.  (London,  1909.)  P.  205  ff. 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


sets  of  influences  which  modify  the  form  of  establishments — a 
large  body  of  factory  workers  in  that  city,  and  proximity  to 
New  York.  A  comparison  of  the  population  statistics  of  the 
two  cities  as  given  in  Table  2,  shows  that,  according  to  the 
United  States  Census  of  1900,  a  larger  proportion  of  the  total 
population  in  Philadelphia  ten  years  of  age  and  over  was  classed 
under  ‘‘manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits’’;  in  Boston, 
under  “trade  and  transportation”  (See  Table  2).  To  meet  the 
demands  of  this  large  proportion  of  factory  workers  in  Philadel¬ 
phia,  a  large  number  of  small  millinery  stores  are  situated  in 
the  districts  where  the  homes  of  working-men  are  found,  and 
the  many  cheap  department  stores  have  developed.  The  absence 
of  millinery  parlors  in  Philadelphia  (only  five  were  discovered 
after  careful  search)  and  the  comparatively  small  number  of 
high  grade  furnishing  stores  for  women  argue  that  customers 
go  to  New  York  for  their  hats. 

TABLE  2,  COMPARING  SPECIFIED  OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  POPULATION 
(10  YEARS  OF  AGE  AND  OVER)  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA. 

FROM  UNITED  STATES  SPECIAL  REPORTS,  12th  CENSUS, 

VOLUME  ON  OCCUPATIONS,  1904,  PP.  432,  461. 


Boston 

/ 

Philadelphia 

i 

Number 

Per  Cent 
of  Total 
Population 

i 

Number 

Per  Cent 
of  Total 
Population 

Total  population  10  years 
of  age  and  over 

454,635 

1,037,157 

Population  engaged  in: — 
Manufacturing  and  me¬ 
chanical  pursuits  . 
Trade  and  transportation 

82,020  i 

85,583 

18.0 

18.8  i 

I  259,197 
|  152,262 

25.0 

14.7 

The  material  for  this  study  was  obtained  chiefly  from  per¬ 
sonal  interviews  with  employers  and  employees.  A  valuable 
contribution,  especially  as  to  seasons  and  wages,  came  from  the 
use  of  Boston  pay  rolls.  An  attempt  was  made,  when  selecting 
firms  to  be  visited  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  to  include  both 
large  and  small  representative  establishments.  Questions  were 
asked  not  only  as  to  competition  and  the  extension  of  credit 


10 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


to  customers,  but  also  as  to  apprenticeship,  seasons,  wages  and 
number  of  employees.  In  Philadelphia  definite  information  as 
to  hours,  overtime  and  workroom  conditions  was  also  secured. 

The  Boston  Directory  for  1911  lists  275  retail  and  47  whole¬ 
sale  establishments — a  total  of  322.  Nineteen  of  the  whole¬ 
sale  dealers  were  not  engaged  in  manufacturing  hats,  but  were 
either  jobbers  for  out-of-town  manufacturers,  or  were  making 
millinery  supplies  only.  Of  the  303  firms  that  could  properly 
be  considered  as  engaged  in  the  millinery  trade,  adequate 
schedules  were  secured  from  103,  practically  one-third  of  the 
number  listed  in  the  Directory.  The  number  of  persons  em¬ 
ployed  in  97  of  these  103  shops  ranged  from  143  during  the 
dull  season  to  1,429  at  the  height  of  the  busy  season.  The  Phila¬ 
delphia  Directory  for  1912  lists  663  retail  and  37  wholesale 
millinery  establishments,  a  total  of  700  firms.  These  figures 
should  be  considerably  discounted  for  two  reasons.  Among 
the  retail  firms  were  the  names  of  several  persons  who  do  home 
work  in  the  dull  season,  but  because  they  were  employed  in 
workrooms  in  the  busy  season,  should  more  properly  be  classed 
as  employees.  Furthermore  the  list  of  Philadelphia  wholesale 
firms  included  wholesale  jobbers  and  manufacturers  of  millinery 
supplies  as  well  as  firms  engaged  in  making  hats;  several  estab¬ 
lishments  in  various  parts  of  the  city  which  were  known  to  be 
primarily  retail  firms  were  also  listed  under  “wholesale  mil¬ 
liners.”  Altogether  104  schedules  were  obtained  from  Phila¬ 
delphia  firms  which  employed  workers  varying  in  number  from 
232  in  the  dull  season  to  1,959  at  the  height  of  the  busy  season. 

A  thorough  knowledge  and  understanding  of  any  trade  must 
be  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  experience  of  workers  as  well 
as  of  employers,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  checking  informa¬ 
tion,  but  of  explaining  and  supplementing  these  facts.  To  this 
end,  schedules  were  secured  from  140  workers  employed  in  Bos¬ 
ton  shops  and  from  121  workers  employed  in  Philadelphia.  In¬ 
formation  from  the  workers  as  well  as  the  employers  was  ob¬ 
tained  by  personal  interviews.  The  employees  were  visited  at 
their  homes.  Questions  were  asked  concerning  their  experience 
in  and  attitude  toward  the  millinery  trade,  and  their  equip¬ 
ment  in  the  way  of  general  education  and  specific  trade  train- 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


ing.  To  know  how  the  workers  met  and  solved  such  problems 
as  the  seasons  was  also  important.  As  far  as  possible,  without 
entering  into  a  standard  of  living  study,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
ascertain  the  economic  status  of  each  worker. 

The  majority  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  Boston  workers 
was  obtained  from  the  trade  itself — that  is,  through  employers, 
from  the  registers  of  girls  seeking  new  positions  through  whole¬ 
sale  jobbing  houses,  and  from  fellow  employees  as  they  were 
visited.  Many  names  were  obtained  from  the  Boston  Trade 
School  for  Girls,  a  few  from  millinery  teachers,  and  a  surpris¬ 
ingly  small  number  from  working-girls  ’  homes,  the  Young 
Women’s  Christian  Association,  and  working-girls’  clubs.  No 
Philadelphia  employers  were  asked  for  names  of  workers  but  the 
lists  in  that  city  came  from  working-girls  ’  homes  and  clubs,  from 
evening  schools  and  settlements,  and  from  fellow  workers  as  they 
were  visited. 

Limitations  in  the  method  of  the  study  and  in  the  scope  of  the 
material  should  be  recognized.  The  proportion  of  employers 
visited  was  certainly  sufficient  to  afford  authoritative  conclu¬ 
sions.  As  the  aim  of  the  investigation  has  been  to  gain  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  millinery  as  a  trade  for  women,  interviews  with  about 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  women  employed  in  the  busy  season  may 
be  accepted  as  valid.  But  the  larger  number  of  pay  rolls  secured, 
for  310  workers  complete  and  incomplete,  add  the  most  important 
information  and  that  most  difficult  to  secure  accurately  from  the 
worker  or  the  employer.1  That  this  data  verifies  the  reports 
from  workers  and  employers  strengthens  the  claim  for  the 
validity  of  these  studies.  Each  study,  in  the  main,  verifies  the 
general  conclusions  of  the  other,  but  exhibits  sufficient  varia¬ 
tions  to  justify  the  claim  that  both  investigations  were  carried 
on  entirely  impartially. 

i  Wages  in  the  Millinery  Trade,  a  study  conducted  under  the  New  York 
State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  in  1914  (a  year  later  than  the 
completion  of  this  study)  by  Miss  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  supplements  this 
study.  It  presents  information  from  yearly  pay  rolls  of  40  shops  and 
3983  workers  in  New  York  City.  (Ed.) 


CHAPTER  II 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MILLINERY 
TRADE  AND  OF  ITS  PROCESSES 

SECTION  I 

Characteristics  of  the  Trade 

A  parasitic  trade,  as  defined  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sidney  Webb, 
is  one  in  which  the  employers  “are  able  to  obtain  the  use  of 
labor  not  included  in  their  wage-bill.”1  Two  classes  of  para¬ 
sitic  trades  are  distinguished — one  in  which  the  workers  are 
partially  maintained  from  the  incomes  of  persons  unconnected 
with  the  industry,  and  the  other  in  which  the  employers  are  en¬ 
abled  to  take  such  advantage  of  their  workers  as  to  pay  wages 
insufficient  to  maintain  them  in  average  health,  or  to  force  them 
to  work  for  very  long  hours  or  under  dangerous  and  unsanitary 
conditions. 

The  first  form  of  parasitism  is  less  vicious  than  the  second 
and  is  characteristic  of  much  labor  done  by  women  and  chil¬ 
dren.  It  is  illustrated  by  the  labor  of  those  women  who  are  not 
paid  sufficient  wages  to  maintain  them  in  efficiency  unless  these 
wages  are  supplemented  by  aid  from  their  families  or  from  other 
sources.  “The  employer  of  partially  subsidized  woman  or  child 
labor  gains,  .  .  .  actually  a  double  advantage  over  the  self- 
supporting  trades;  he  gets  without  cost  to  himself  the  extra 
energy  due  to  the  extra  food,  and  he  abstracts — possibly  from 
the  workers  at  a  rival  process,  or  in  a  competing  industry — 
some  of  the  income  which  might  have  increased  the  energy  put 
into  the  other  trade. ’  ’ 2  The  second  and  more  vicious  form  o'f 

1  Webb,  Sidney  and  Beatrice,  Industrial  Democracy.  (London,  1897.  2 

vole.)  Vol.  II,  p.  749. 

2  I  lid.,  p.  750. 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


13 


parasitism — the  sweated  trades — are,  to  be  sure,  “not  drawing 
any  money  subsidy  from  the  incomes  of  other  classes.  But  in 
thus  deteriorating  the  physique,  intelligence,  and  character  of 
their  operatives,  they  are  drawing  on  the  capital  stock  of  the 
nation.  ...  It  is  taking  from  these  workers,  week  by  week, 
more  than  its  wages  can  restore  to  them.  ’  ’ 1  This  form  of  para¬ 
sitism  is  a  matter  of  vital  social  concern,  since  it  makes  for 
physical  degeneration. 

The  partially  subsidized  form  of  parasitic  trades  is  no  less 
a  matter  of  social  concern,  and  carries  with  it,  perhaps,  more 
insidious  effects  than  do  the  sweated  trades.  The  physical  de¬ 
terioration  of  the  worker  in  the  sweated  trade  shouts  its  warn¬ 
ing.  But  the  habit  of  parasitism  which  is  fostered  in  the  work¬ 
ers  of  a  subsidized  trade  carries  with  it  a  weakening  of  the  will 
and  of  the  moral  fiber,  the  effects  of  which  cannot  be  estimated 
or  guarded  against.  It  tends  to  reduce  individual  responsi¬ 
bility  and  to  destroy  all  feeling  of  community  interests  and 
activity.  By  removing  the  emphasis  from  efficiency,  it  intensi¬ 
fies  one  of  the  fundamental  weaknesses  of  the  position  of  women 
in  industry,  lack  of  adequate  training.  It  is  rendered  more  in¬ 
sidious  because  it  is  often  defended  on  the  ground  of  pre¬ 
serving  family  unity.  Considerable  apprehension  would  be 
aroused  if  the  worker  were  to  receive  aid  from  societv  in  the 
form  of  charity  or  from  illicit  sources  to  supplement  wages  that 
are  insufficient  to  maintain  efficiency. 

Millinery  is  a  trade  employing  partially  subsidized  woman’s 
labor.  The  almost  universal  requirement  of  employers  that 
their  workers  live  at  home,  or  have  means  of  support  other  than 
their  trade,  gives  evidence  of  this  phase  of  parasitism.  The  an¬ 
swers  of  employers  to  the  question,  “Would  you  advise  a  girl  to 
enter  the  trade  ?  ’  ’  showed  a  conscious  recognition  of  this  charac¬ 
teristic.  About  75  per  cent,  of  the  employers  visited  in  both 
Boston  and  Philadelphia  would  not  advise  a  girl  to  enter  the 
trade  unless  she  had  a  home  or  some  other  means  of  support,  or 
possessed  exceptional  talent — and  even  then,  she  would  need 
some  additional  form  of  income  while  learning.  Eighteen  em¬ 
ployers  in  Boston  and  twelve  in  Philadelphia  most  emphatically 

i  Hid.,  p.  751. 


14 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


refused  to  advise  a  girl  to  take  up  millinery  under  any  circum¬ 
stances.1 

Most  of  the  millinery  workers  do  live  at  home.  Data  on  this 
point  were  obtained  from  three  sources,  the  employers,  the 
workers  and  the  United  States  census.  Eighty-six  per  cent. 
(89)  of  the  total  number  of  Boston  firms  and  82  per  cent.  (86) 
of  the  total  number  of  Philadelphia  firms  reported  that  the 
majority  of  their  workers  lived  at  home.  Many  of  these  inci¬ 
dentally  supplemented  their  answers  by  such  significant  re¬ 
marks  as,  “A  girl  needs  the  help  of  her  family,’ ’  “Make  it  a 
point  to  get  girls  from  good  homes,  so  they  can  live  on  their 
wages,”  “Wouldn’t  take  a  girl  who  doesn’t — a  girl  can’t  live 
on  $6  a  week,”  “Don’t  want  a  girl  who  hasn’t  a  good  home — it 
worries  me  to  turn  her  off  in  the  dull  season.”  In  Boston  83 
per  cent.  (105)  of  the  126  workers  reporting  on  this  question 
lived  with  their  families  or  other  relatives,  while  only  17  per 
cent.  (21)  of  the  number  reporting  could  in  any  sense  of  the 
word  be  said  to  be  self-supporting.  In  Philadelphia  84  per  cent. 
(100)  of  the  119  reporting  lived  with  their  families  or  with  rela¬ 
tives.  That  this  characteristic  of  millinery  workers  is  not  local 
is  shown  by  United  States  census  statistics.  “The  proportion 
of  milliners  who  were  apparently  the  sole  support  of  the  families 
in  which  they  were  living  was  small,  being  7.1  per  cent,  or  about 
1  in  14.  The  proportion  who  were  boarding  and  were  there¬ 
fore  apparently  dependent  upon  their  own  earnings  was  twice  as 
great,  while  the  number  living  in  families  with  other  bread¬ 
winners  formed  78.7  per  cent  of  the  total.”2 

Certain  characteristics  of  women  at  work  and  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  trade  itself  are  the  causes  of  the  parasitic  nature 
of  the  trade.  For  this  there  are  three  chief  reasons: — (1)  the 
seasons;  (2)  the  two  distinct  processes  of  the  trade,  only  one 
of  which  employs  highly  paid  workers  and  that  a  small  group; 
and  (3)  the  over-supply  of  workers. 

The  seasonal  character  of  the  trade  constitutes  the  most  potent 
cause  for  the  millinery  worker’s  need  of  a  subsidy.  There  are 

1  Ninety-six  of  the  103  Boston  firms  visited,  and  102  of  the  104  Philadel¬ 
phia  firms  answered  this  question. 

2  United  States  Census,  Statistics  of  Women  at  Work ,  1900,  pp.  80-81. 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


15 


two  busy  seasons,  the  fall  season,  beginning  usually  in  Septem¬ 
ber  and  ending  in  November  or  December,  and  the  spring  sea¬ 
son,  opening  a  few  weeks  before  Easter  and  closing  in  June, 
altogether  varying  in  length  from  6  to  8  months,  and  occasion¬ 
ally  10  months.  Work  is  rather  leisurely  at  the  beginning  of 
each  busy  season.  The  girls  returning  from  their  enforced  vaca¬ 
tion  are  eager  to  be  employed,  and  are  engaged  in  making 
“ stock”  hats  for  the  spring  or  fall  “ opening.”  Gradually 
as  trade  opens  the  girls  are  made  to  work  more  swiftly 
upon  both  “ stock”  and  “ order ”  hats.  Orders  which  ‘‘must  be 
finished  by  Saturday  night  at  the  latest”  begin  to  pile  up  to¬ 
wards  the  end  of  each  week  and  the  whole  force  is  working  un¬ 
der  a  nerve-racking  pressure.  This  rush  continues  for  several 
weeks  without  cessation  until  perhaps  after  a  particularly  busy 
Saturday,  the  employer  enters  the  workroom  to  inform  her 
force  that  she  has  no  orders  for  the  next  week  and  must  dismiss 
some  of  her  employees.  This  sudden  rush  and  uncertainty  in¬ 
tensifies  the  seriousness  of  the  seasonal  question. 

The  seasonal  difficulty  is  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  millinery 
is  a  fashion  trade  in  which  demand  occurs  at  stated  periods  and 
value  is  in  direct  proportion  to  “style.”  Boston  and  Phila¬ 
delphia  depend  almost  wholly  upon  Paris  and  New  York  for 
prevailing  styles.  The  exclusive  and  larger  shops  each  season 
send  representatives  abroad  to  study  the  new  fashions  and  to 
obtain  the  latest  materials.  A  few  models  from  London,  Paris 
and  other  European  fashion  centers  are  imported  at  consider¬ 
able  expense  and  copied  in  the  millinery  workrooms  with  varia¬ 
tions  as  to  size,  color  and  materials.  The  proprietors  of  the 
smaller  establishments  or  the  better  trimmers  of  the  larger  shops 
as  a  rule,  obtain  their  ideas  from  New  York.  New  York,  in 
turn,  imports  models  from  Europe  which  are  copied  in  the  work¬ 
rooms  of  its  wholesale  millinery  establishments  and  sent  all  over 
the  United  States  as  models  to  be  adapted  to  individual  cus¬ 
tomers. 

Not  only  fashion  but  caprice  and  uncertainty  are  character¬ 
istics  of  this  trade  and  affect  both  employer  and  employee.  The 
milliner  must  try  out  different  designs  to  discover  the  popular 
ones.  Parisian  milliners,  or  some  other  fashion  leaders,  must 


16 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


take  the  initiative  and  even  then  can  have  no  assurance  that 
their  styles  will  be  acceptable.  Each  individual  employee  in  a 
fashion  trade,  with  its  ever-changing  styles,  finds  that  “there  is 
always  something  new  to  learn  in  Millinery.”  The  worker 
finds  that  every  new  style  ushers  in  some  new  trick  to  learn, 
and  that  in  order  to  maintain  proficiency  she  must  practice  it 
constantly.  The  shops  catering  to  a  fashionable  clientele  feel 
the  effects  most  keenly.  The  increasing  use  of  automobiles, 
compelling  the  wearing  of  close-fitting  bonnets,  has  lessened  the 
demand  for  elaborate  carriage  hats  and  has  sounded  the  note  of 
simplicity  in  millinery.  The  custom  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 
law  in  Boston  compelling  women  to  remove  their  hats  during  the 
performance  at  the  opera,  has  decreased  the  demand  for  evening 
hats.  Even  the  growing  custom  of  going  to  the  country  early 
in  the  spring  and  returning  late  in  the  fall  has  noticeably  short¬ 
ened  the  season  and  decreased  the  number  of  workers  required. 
One  employer,  as  an  illustration,  stated  that  she  had  reduced 
her  force  by  three  or  four  makers,  because  the  prevailing  sim¬ 
plicity  and  the  popularity  of  pressed  shapes,  felts  and  machine- 
made  hats  necessitated  fewer  workers.  Thus  the  vagaries  of 
fashion  and  customs  affect  appreciably  the  number  of  workers 
employed  in  the  workroom  and  the  length  of  the  seasons. 

The  presence  of  a  small  proportion  of  highly  paid  workers 
who  perform  one  important  process  throws  a  glamor  around  the 
whole  trade  and  contribute  toward  making  millinery  parasitic. 
Professor  Marshall  says,  “  If  an  occupation  offers  a  few  extremely 
high  prizes,  its  attractiveness  is  increased  out  of  all  proportion 
to  their  aggregate  value.  For  this  there  are  two  reasons.  The 
first  is  that  young  men  of  an  adventurous  disposition  are  more 
attracted  by  the  prospects  of  a  great  success  than  they  are  de¬ 
terred  by  the  fear  of  failure;  and  the  second  is  that  the  social 
rank  of  an  occupation  depends  more  on  the  highest  dignity  and 
the  best  position  which  can  be  attained  through  it  than  on  the 
average  good  fortune  of  those  engaged  in  it.  ” 1  Thus  many 
workers  are  attracted  into  millinery  by  the  hope  of  attaining 
the  high  wages  or  the  higher  social  prestige  of  the  small  per- 

i  Marshall,  Alfred.  Principles  of  Economics.  An  Introductory  Volume. 
(London,  1910.)  P.  554. 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


17 


centage  of  designers  and  trimmers.  While  excellent  opportuni¬ 
ties  await  the  exceptional  worker  with  artistic  ability,  for  the 
large  number  of  girls  who  enter  the  trade,  opportunities  are  few 
and  many  of  these  poorly  paid. 

The  large  supply  of  workers  lowers  the  wages  paid  in  the  di¬ 
vision  requiring  technical  skill  only  and  constitutes  a  third  reason 
for  the  worker’s  need  of  a  subsidy.  The  majority  of  employers 
agree  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  workers.  They  do, 
however,  usually  qualify  this  statement  by  saying  that  the  supply 
of  good  workers  is  insufficient,  and  the  employees  as  a  rule  con¬ 
firm  this  opinion.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  an  employee  re¬ 
mark,  “Millinery  is  becoming  a  poor  business — there  are  too 
many  girls  going  into  it.  A  good  worker,  though,  has  no  diffi¬ 
culty  in  getting  work.”  One  worker,  who  had  been  employed 
in  some  of  the  best  shops  in  Boston  at  a  good  wage,  said,  “I 
can  stay  here  (her  present  position)  till  I  die.  Madam  says 
she  has  so  much  trouble  getting  good  makers  that  she  won’t  let 
me  go  if  she  can  help  it.  ’  ’  This  surplus  of  incompetent  workers 
is  due  primarily  to  two  causes,  (1)  the  social  prestige  of  the 
trade,  which  attracts  many  girls  who  are  neither  by  nature  nor 
ability  fitted  for  it;  (2)  the  unwillingness  of  many  workers  to 
devote  sufficient  time  to  acquire  requisite  skill  and  experience. 
Unlike  a  man,  who  expects  to  maintain  a  family  by  means  of  his 
trade,  a  woman  usually  looks  forward  to  being  self-supporting 
only  for  the  short  period  until  marriage.  She  sees  no  neces¬ 
sity  for  spending  much  time  in  acquiring  knowledge  and  pro¬ 
ficiency  in  a  trade  which  at  best  is  only  a  temporary  occupa¬ 
tion.  Ordinarily,  to  learn  millinery  an  apprentice  should  spend 
two  seasons,  spring  and  fall,  that  she  may  gain  experience  in 
handling  seasonal  kinds  of  materials.  But  very  often  a  worker, 
after  giving  her  time  for  one  season,  will  represent  herself  as  an 
experienced  maker  in  some  other  shop.  The  capable  maker 
may,  and  probably  does,  succeed.  It  is  the  large  group  of  less 
capable  ones  that  swells  the  ranks  of  inefficient  workers. 

The  social  prestige  universally  accorded  to  them  by  workers 
in  other  trades  is  a  second  equally  important  reason  for  the 
over-supply  of  workers  in  millinery.  A  Russian  Jewish  girl  in 
a  dark,  dirty  wholesale  workroom  in  Philadelphia  said,  “Oh, 


18 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


it  gives  one  so  much  better  social  position  than  factory  work!” 
“I  haven’t  such  a  nice  job  as  Ethel’s,”  said  a  millinery  worker’s 
sixteen-year-old  sister,  who  was  employed  in  a  box-factory,  ‘  ‘  but 
I  can  make  as  much  as  she  does  in  a  week  and  usually  lots  more. 
Last  week  I  earned  $16 !”  A  common  reason  given  by  the  work¬ 
ers  for  taking  up  millinery  is  that  they  thought  it  was  a  “re¬ 
fined”  trade,  and  that  they  “would  meet  a  better  class  of  peo¬ 
ple.”  This  social  prestige  proves  an  inducement  to  two  types 
of  girls — the  one  who  wishes  to  raise  herself  in  the  social  scale, 
and  the  one  who  wishes  to  earn  pin  money  and  at  the  same  time 
not  to  lose  social  caste.  They  are  willing  to  accept  such  social 
position  as  the  trade  gives  them  in  part  payment  for  services. 
The  family  or  society  pays  the  amount  deducted  from  the  wages 
— the  cost  of  this  social  position — and  thus  helps  to  pay  the 
wages-bill  of  the  millinery  trade. 


SECTION  II 

Description  of  Processes 

A  general  ignorance  prevails  as  to  the  meaning  of  millinery 
terms.  “I  never  tell  people  I’m  a  maker,”  said  one  worker. 
“I  just  say  I’m  a  milliner,  I  haven’t  time  to  explain  to  them 
what  a  maker  is.  ’  ’  An  adequate  idea  of  the  processes  of  a  trade, 
however,  is  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  trade  itself. 
No  such  confusion  of  terms  exists  in  Boston  and  in  Philadelphia 
as  seems  to  prevail  in  New  York,  where  such  expressions  as  “im¬ 
prover,”  “preparer”  and  “milliner”  with  a  corresponding  lack 
of  universal  definition  tend  to  befog  the  idea  of  the  processes. 
While  the  names  applied  to  the  workers  in  the  various  processes 
are  not  identical  in  Boston  and  in  Philadelphia,  yet  no  uncer¬ 
tainty  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  terms  employed  exists.  The 
processes  are  the  same  throughout  custom  millinery  no  matter 
under  what  title  the  workers  who  perform  them  may  be  known. 

The  work  in  millinery  falls  into  two  distinct  divisions,  (1) 
the  making  and  (2)  the  designing  and  trimming  of  the  hat, 
the  one  requiring  skill  and  dexterity,  the  other  creative  and  ar- 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


19 


tistic  ability;  the  one  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  trade,  the 
other  rising  practically  into  the  ranks  of  a  profession  or  an  art. 
Five  different  positions  are  distinguished  according  to  the  skill 
and  artistic  cleverness  required,  the  apprentice,  the  maker,1  the 
copyist,  the  trimmer,  and  the  designer.  The  apprentice  and  the 
maker  form  the  “making”  division,  the  trimmer  and  designer, 
the  higher  division  of  designing  and  trimming,  and  the  copyist 
performs  some  of  the  functions  of  both  divisions.  To  differ¬ 
entiate  exactly  between  these  various  positions  is  impossible. 
Perhaps  in  making,  one  girl  may  construct  frames  more  ac¬ 
curately  and  firmly  than  another,  and  she  will  be  given  such 
work  to  do.  A  second  girl  may  stretch  velvet  over  frames  more 
smoothly,  leaving  less  of  a  “  handled  ’  ’  appearance.  A  third  may 
specialize  on  bonnets  and  toques,  which  require  neat,  careful 
workmanship,  or  another  on  trimmings  for  the  trimmer.  Even 
the  trimmers  may  specialize  on  children’s  hats,  evening  hats, 
bonnets,  or  toques.  The  work  varies  with  the  establishment.  In 
one,  no  frames  are  made  by  hand  and  all  the  bands  are  purchased 
by  the  gross,  ready-made;  in  another,  no  hat  is  sent  out  without 
the  touch  of  individuality  characteristic  of  a  handmade  frame. 
Work  is  apportioned  according  to  the  special  ability  of  the  em¬ 
ployee,  but  in  general  the  following  millinery  processes  prevail. 

Millinery  is  ordinarily  learned  through  a  system  of  apprentice¬ 
ship  by  which  the  beginner  gives  her  time  for  two  seasons  to 
learn  both  summer  and  winter  work.  Only  the  making  processes 
can  be  taught.  “You  can’t  teach  trimming,”  is  the  sentiment 
of  workers  and  employers  alike.  The  apprentice  usually  be¬ 
gins  making  bands,  which  is  not  very  attractive  work  for  an  am¬ 
bitious  girl  and  soon  becomes  monotonous,  but  affords  opportunity 
for  learning  fundamental  millinery  stitches  and  for  acquiring 
the  knack  of  handling  wire  and  buckram — two  rather  difficult 
materials  with  which  to  work.  Then  she  is  taught  to  line  a  hat, 
to  wire  bows,  to  hem  silks  and  velvets,  to  make  folds  and  facings, 
to  shirr  materials  and  to  sew  on  braids,  all  of  which  must  be 
done  so  that  the  stitches  do  not  show.  Finally,  she  learns  to 

i  The  term  “milliner”  as  used  in  Philadelphia  exactly  corresponds  to  the 
term  “maker”  in  Boston.  The  latter,  since  it  is  derived  from  the  name 
of  the  process,  is  used  throughout  this  study  instead  of  “milliner.” 


20 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


make  frames,  if  she  is  in  a  workroom  where  frames  are  made  by 
hand,  and  to  cover  them  with  various  materials.  Ability  to  sew 
firmly  and  to  tack  is  a  prime  requisite  in  millinery.  Handling 
millinery  materials  so  as  to  obtain  an  artistic  appearance  re¬ 
quires  practice,  and,  while  it  is  not  surprising  that  an  apprentice 
often  complains  that  she  did  nothing  but  make  bands  or  folds, 
she  thus  shows  that  she  fails  to  realize  that  these  afford  practice 
in  the  a  b  c’s  of  her  trade  which  should  be  learned  with  as  little 
expense  as  possible  to  her  employer.  Much  of  the  work  is  diffi¬ 
cult  and  hard  to  “pick  up,”  so  that  the  making  processes  as  a 
rule  must  be  learned. 

After  the  apprentice  has  served  her  time  she  is  advanced  to  the 
position  of  maker.  Employees  from  one  or  two  of  the  best 
shops  in  Boston  used  the  term  “improver’ ’  to  designate  a  worker 
who  has  completed  her  apprenticeship,  in  other  words,  an  in¬ 
experienced  maker.  This  word  is  commonly  used  in  Philadel¬ 
phia  in  the  same  sense  in  which  it  is  occasionally  used  in  Boston. 
It  does  not  apply  to  a  separate  process,  but  rather  to  the  stage  of 
experience,  or  inexperience  of  the  worker.  Thus  whenever  an 
employer  who  used  the  term  was  asked  to  define  it,  she  invariably 
said,  “Oh,  an  improver’s  the  same  as  a  maker.”  The  same 
meaning  is  given  to  the  word  abroad,  as  a  general  term  applied 
to  workers  just  advanced  beyond  the  apprenticeship  stage.1 
The  word  “preparer”  was  used  in  a  few  instances  in  both  cities 
to  designate  an  advanced  maker  sitting  beside  the  trimmer,  and 
performing  the  more  difficult  and  expert  work  of  making.2 

The  maker  constructs  from  measurements  the  wire  or  buckram 
frames  and  covers  them  with  silk,  velvet,  chiffon,  or  straw.  She 
has  some  rather  difficult  problems  to  solve.  Her  trimmer  may 
sketch  a  hat  and  tell  her  to  make  one  like  it  with  no  other  guide 
than  the  sketch,  and  perhaps  a  measurement  or  two.  A  high 

1  Trades  for  London  Girls  and  How  to  Enter  Them.  Compiled  by  the 
Apprenticeship  and  Skilled  Employment  Association,  36  and  37  Denison 
House,  Vauxhall  Bridge  Road,  S.  W.  (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  London, 
1909.)  Introduction  p.  xviii,  also  p.  39. 

2  As.  an  illustration  of  the  lack  of  confusion  of  terms  in  Boston,  no 
worker  was  interviewed  who  claimed  to  be  either  an  improver  or  a  pre¬ 
parer.  The  term  “milliner”  which  in  New  York  and  in  Philadelphia  is 
usually  employed  to  designate  one  who  does  the  work  of  a  maker,  is  fre¬ 
quently  applied  in  Boston  to  a  worker  who  knows  thoroughly  both  the  mak¬ 
ing  and  trimming  processes. 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


21 


degree  of  accuracy  is  thus  demanded.  If  one  side  of  the  frame 
varies  an  eighth  of  an  inch,  the  hat  will  not  look  like  the  model. 

The  copyist  ranks  between  the  maker  and  the  trimmer  in  point 
of  skill  and  artistic  ability  and  is  usually  found  in  all  estab¬ 
lishments.  She  does  more  careful  and  artistic  work  than  the 
maker  of  her  establishment,  but  lacks  the  initiative  and  creative 
ability  of  the  trimmer.  She  is  primarily  an  imitator.  Her  work 
in  a  high  grade  custom  shop  consists  in  the  copying  of  the  frame 
and  trimming  of  a  model  hat,  either  a  Paris  or  a  New  York  hat 
or  one  of  original  design,  changing  perhaps  the  color,  the  size, 
or  the  materials  used.  Fine  work  and  a  high  degree  of  ac¬ 
curacy  is  required  in  making  the  frame  to  resemble  the  model, 
and  some  degree  of  skill  in  copying  the  trimming.  In  a  whole¬ 
sale  millinery  establishment,  the  copyist  (usually  called  a 
maker)  tacks  the  trimming  to  the  frames  which  she  has  covered 
and  which  the  designer  has  perhaps  designed  and  had  made  up 
by  the  hundreds  at  a  wire  frame  factory.  The  quality  of  work 
done  by  these  two  copyists  is  widely  different,  the  standard  of 
the  former  being  fine  work  and  artistic  effect,  of  the  latter,  num¬ 
ber  of  hats  completed. 

The  trimmers  and  designers  do  the  more  artistic  and  creative 
work,  and  have  general  supervision  over  the  makers  at  their 
tables.  That  the  technique  of  trimming  may  be  learned  from 
observation  and  practice,  and  that  the  ambitious  worker  with 
any  creative  ability  at  all  may  work  her  way  into  the  artistic 
division,  is  probably  true  of  trimming  as  of  other  arts.  And 
it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  trimmer  who  has  had  prac¬ 
tical  experience  in  making  and  understands  it  thoroughly  is  of 
greater  value  in  supervising  her  makers  than  one  who  has  not 
had  such  experience.  The  trimmer  trims  the  hat  even  if  it  be 
such  comparatively  simple  work  as  tacking  on  an  ornament  or  a 
velvet  bow  or  band.  She  should  have  a  good  idea  of  “  place¬ 
ment  ”  and  of  the  combination  of  colors  and  materials.  She 
must  see  that  each  hat  of  the  shop  bears  some  distinctive  and 
individual  touch  and  that  the  customer  is  “  fitted/ 1  The  last 
touches  bestowed  by  the  trimmer  upon  the  hat  give  individuality 
and  may  counterbalance  poor  workmanship  in  the  making.  It 
has  been  said,  “There  is  less  foundation  to  millinery  and  more 


22 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


finishing  and  last  touches  than  in  any  trade ;  the  manipulation  of 
materials  is  slight  and  learned  quickly  compared  to  other  difficult 
requirements.  ’  ’ 1 

The  trimmer  usually  sits  at  the  head  of  a  table  seating  from 
three  to  eight  makers  and  apprentices,  the  number  varying  with 
her  own  speed  and  the  character  of  the  work  demanded  of  the 
assistants.  She  must  plan  the  work  so  that  the  makers  are  kept 
busy  preparing  materials  and  making  hats  and  trimmings.  She 
is  responsible  for  the  character  of  the  work  of  her  assistants 
and  is  expected  to  maintain  the  standards  of  excellence  of  that 
establishment.  Thus  the  unit  of  organization  in  the  workroom 
is  the  ‘  ‘  table,  ’ ’  consisting  of  trimmer  and  assistants,  and  in  large 
establishments  there  are  many  such  tables. 

A  designer,  proper,  is  found  only  in  the  largest  and  the  most 
exclusive  establishments,  and,  wherever  employed,  takes  pre¬ 
cedence  over  the  trimmer.  Often  the  very  best  establishments 
employ  no  designer,  recognized  as  such,  and  the  trimmers  origi¬ 
nate  designs.  In  the  smaller  establishments,  the  proprietor,  if  a 
milliner,  or  the  trimmer  performs  such  work.  The  chief  func¬ 
tion  of  the  designer  is  that  of  originating  and  making  new  de¬ 
signs  in  hat  shapes  and  ornaments  and  in  ways  of  trimming. 
She  originates  and  makes  the  models  of  the  shop,  rarely  doing 
“order  work,”  while  the  trimmer,  copyist  and  maker  alter  the 
models  to  suit  the  individual  tastes  of  the  customers. 

The  difficulty  of  differentiating  accurately  between  the 
trimmer  and  the  designer  is  illustrated  by  the  following  experi¬ 
ence.  One  firm  reported  three  designers  and  three  trimmers. 
Since  this  was  a  store  professing  to  copy  imported  hats,  there 
seemed  to  be  two  superfluous  designers.  Interviews  with  several 
workers  from  this  shop  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  three  trim¬ 
mers  had  the  privilege  of  designing,  and  thus  added  the  title  of 
designer  to  that  of  trimmer.  This  is  probably  true  of  other 
establishments.  Their  trimmers  do  some  designing,  thus  ac¬ 
counting  for  the  small  number  of  designers  reported  by  the 
millinery  establishments  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia. 

The  workers  in  the  division  requiring  technical  skill  pre- 

i  Oakeshott,  Mrs.  G.  M.,  Women’s  Trades,  published  by  the  London 
County  Council.  (London,  1908.)  P.  28. 


THE  TRADE  AND  ITS  PROCESSES 


23 


dominate  in  the  millinery  trade  as  shown  by  Tables  3  and  4.  In 
Boston  1,429  workers  were  employed  at  the  height  of  the  busy 
season  in  the  workrooms  of  the  97  establishments  reporting.  Of 
these  1,429  workers,  84  per  cent.  (1,197)  are  engaged  in  the 
lower  division,  74  per  cent.  (1,059)  being  makers,  and  about 
ten  per  cent.  (138)  apprentices.  In  Philadelphia1  the  per¬ 
centage  of  workers  engaged  in  the  division  requiring  technical 
skill  was  practically  the  same  as  in  Boston.  Of  the  1,794  work¬ 
ers  in  94  firms  reporting,  85  per  cent.  (1,536)  are  engaged  in 
the  technical  division,  71  per  cent.  (1,274) — about  3  per  cent,  less 
than  in  Boston — being  makers,  and  14  per  cent.  (262) — about  4 
per  cent,  more  than  in  Boston — being  apprentices.  Obviously 
the  chance  for  advancement  for  the  majority  of  the  makers  is 
slight.  Often  those  very  qualities — accuracy,  neatness  and  pre¬ 
cision — that  are  so  desirable  in  a  good  maker  preclude  her  ever 
attaining  to  the  higher  position  of  trimmer.  The  statements 
sometimes  heard  in  the  trade,  that  ‘  ‘  a  good  maker  is  never  a  good 
trimmer, ”  and  that  “ often  the  best  trimmer  can  never  make” 
show  how  keenly  the  workers  themselves  realize  the  line  of  de¬ 
marcation  between  these  different  grades  of  work  in  the  same 
trade.  In  view  of  the  number  of  establishments  professing  to 
copy  imported  models,  a  surprisingly  small  number  of  copyists, 
— only  eight  in  Boston,2— was  returned.  The  fact  that  a  copy¬ 
ist  must  be  an  expert  maker  no  doubt  led  the  majority  of  estab¬ 
lishments  to  classify  them  as  such.  Frequently  a  worker  would 
call  herself  a  maker,  adding,  “but  really,  though,  I’m  a  copy¬ 
ist.  ’  ’ 

In  both  cities,  at  the  height  of  the  busy  season  about  14  per 
cent,  of  the  total  number  of  workers  were  trimmers  (198  of  the 
1,429  workers  in  Boston  and  243  of  the  1,794  in  Philadelphia). 
Only  11  designers,  so-called,  were  reported  from  the  97  estab¬ 
lishments  in  Boston,  and  15  from  the  94  shops  in  Philadelphia. 
The  designer  usually  assumes  considerable  responsibility,  thus 

1  One  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  workers  were  employed  at 
the  height  of  the  busy  season  in  102  Philadelphia  establishments;  but 
since  there  are  165  workers  included  in  that  total  who  were  not  classi¬ 
fied  as  to  trimmers,  makers  and  apprentices,  it  is  less  confusing  in  other 
connections  to  subtract  the  165  from  1,959  and  use  the  result,  1,794,  as  a 
basis  throughout. 

2  No  copyists  were  returned  from  Philadelphia,  being  included  among 
the  makers  or  milliners  as  they  are  called  in  that  city. 


24 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


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26 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


these  eleven  designers  are  reported  from  the  department  stores 
and  wholesale  houses  where  large  forces  are  under  their  direction 
and  supervision.  Since  much  of  the  success  of  a  millinery  estab¬ 
lishment  depends  upon  the  trimmer  and  the  designer,  they  are 
usually  given  contracts  for  a  definite  number  of  weeks  during 
the  season.  This  privilege  is  not  extended  to  the  maker,  who 
is  “turned  off”  as  work  slackens  and  the  necessity  arises  for 
reducing  the  force. 

The  proprietor  or  a  worker  usually  attends  to  the  customers 
in  the  smaller  establishments.  Special  salesgirls,  though,  are 
employed  in  the  larger  shops.  A  good  millinery  salesgirl,  in 
meeting  the  customer  and  in  understanding  her  orders  correctly, 
aids  materially  in  the  workroom  and  receives  good  wages.  This 
study,  however,  does  not  include  the  millinery  salesgirl.  The 
interest  has  been  centered  upon  the  girl  in  the  workroom. 

The  opportunity  for  advancement  in  the  millinery  trade  is, 
after  all,  not  great.  The  workers  in  the  mechanical  division  and 
those  in  the  artistic  division  show  a  proportion  of  six  to  one  in 
Boston — six  makers  and  apprentices  to  one  trimmer — and  of 
seven  to  one  in  Philadelphia.  If,  as  many  employers  say,  a  trim¬ 
mer  should  keep  from  five  to  eight  makers  and  apprentices  busy, 
the  proportion  of  trimmers  employed  in  the  establishments  of 
Boston  and  Philadelphia  is  as  large  as  the  business  will  admit. 
Only  one  maker  in  six  or  seven,  therefore,  has  the  opportunity  of 
rising  into  the  higher  division  where  the  wages  received  during 
the  short  seasons  are  sufficient,  if  expended  with  foresight  and 
economy,  to  tide  a  girl  over  the  dull  season  without  aid  from 
other  sources. 


CHAPTER  III 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS  ACCORDING 
TO  STAGES  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION 

“Perhaps  the  difference  is  only  one  between  the  immediate 
and  the  remote  causes  of  industrial  evolution,  but,  at  any  rate, 
so  far  as  concerns  the  characteristic  features  of  the  labor  move¬ 
ment  as  we  find  them  in  the  documents  at  our  command,  it  is 
the  extension  of  the  markets  more  than  the  technique  of  produc¬ 
tion  that  determines  the  origin  of  industrial  classes,  their  forms 
of  organization,  their  political  and  industrial  policies  and  de¬ 
mands,  and  their  fate.  Even  the  inventions  of  machinery  fol¬ 
low  rather  than  precede  the  widening  of  the  markets.  ’  ’ 1  Pro¬ 
fessor  John  R.  Commons,  in  discussing  the  progress  of  inven¬ 
tion  and  the  extension  of  the  market  as  the  two  chief  factors 
determining  the  organization  of  industrial  classes,  thus  stresses 
the  latter  as  the  more  decisive  and  fundamental.  These  agents 
are  just  as  important  and  active  in  limiting  and  defining  the 
forms,  organization  and  problems  of  industrial  establishments. 

In  a  trade  such  as  millinery,  where  no  change  in  the  tools  of 
production  has  taken  place,  the  influence  of  the  expanding  mar¬ 
ket  upon  the  form  and  organization  of  industrial  establishments 
is  reduced  to  the  simplest  form,  and  can  be  clearly  traced.  A 
striking  characteristic  of  the  trade  is  the  existence,  side  by  side, 
of  stages  in  the  development  of  industry,  from  the  home  to  the 
factory.  An  analysis  of  millinery  establishments  is  rendered 
difficult  by  the  wide  variations  in  the  type  of  worker  required 
in  shops  of  the  same  class.  The  form  of  each  establishment 
conforms  to  the  standards  and  demands' of  its  customers,  so 
that  the  difference  existing  between  a  Boylston  Street  store  in 
Boston,  or  a  Walnut  Street  store  in  Philadelphia,  and  a  very 

1  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society ,  edited  by  John 
R.  Commons  and  others.  Vol.  Ill,  p.  28. 


28 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


cheap  store  on  Lowell  Street  in  Boston,  or  on  Frankford  Avenue 
in  Philadelphia,  is  one  of  external  appearance  only.  These  es¬ 
tablishments  are,  however,  variations  of  the  same  millinery 
genus  “store,”  the  differences  being  due  entirely  to  environ¬ 
ment. 

Three  general  classes  of  millinery  establishments  are  found  in 
Boston  and  Philadelphia.  These  are  again  divided  as  follows 
into  six  sub-classes  which  exemplify  six  stages  of  industrial  evolu¬ 
tion  : 

(1)  Private  establishments  including 

(a)  private  or  home  millinery  and 

(b)  parlor  millinery. 

(2)  Retail  establishments,  comprising 

(a)  the  millinery  store  and 

(b)  the  millinery  department  of  a  department  store. 

(3)  Wholesale  establishments,  consisting  of 

(a)  wholesale  millinery  and 

(b)  manufacturing  wholesale  millinery. 

The  names  of  the  different  industrial  types  of  establishments  are 
the  terms  used  within  the  trade  itself  and  to  one  familiar  with 
it  and  its  conditions  they  call  up  distinct  and  definite  pictures. 
The  shading  off  between  the  sub-classes  is  gradual,  and  some 
establishments  may  be  found  which  bear  distinctive  marks  of 
several  industrial  stages,  yet  the  six  types  do  exist  side  by  side 
and  are  easily  recognizable.  The  three  great  classes  of  millinery 
establishments  vary  according  to  (1)  market,  (2)  amount  of 
capital  invested,  and  (3)  the  relation  of  the  employer  to  cus¬ 
tomers  and  to  employees. 

Private  or  home  millinery  represents  the  lowest  stage  of  the 
industrial  evolution  of  millinery  and  is  characterized  by  the 
combination  in  the  home  of  trade  work  with  household  duties, 
by  a  limited  personal  market,  by  little  or  no  investment  of  capital 
and  by  no  workroom  force,  or,  if  any,  a  very  small  one.1  The 

i  An  intensive  study  of  home  millinery  was  not  attempted  in  Boston,  and 
only  a  few  (twelve)  establishments  were  visited  in  Philadelphia.  The  ma¬ 
terial  for  the  description  of  this  type  in  Boston  was  obtained  from  a  study 
of  shops  in  four  Boston  suburbs — five  in  Cambridge,  two  in  Somerville,  and 
several  accidentally  encountered  in  East  and  South  Boston.  These  are  felt 
to  be  more  representative  than  some  of  the  more  highly  developed  types 
found  in  Philadelphia,  which  verge  very  closely  upon  the  next  class  of 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


29 


employer  conducts  her  business  in  the  parlor,  usually,  of  her 
own  home.  Often  the  only  index  to  the  private  milliner  is  an 
inconspicuous  card  tacked  over  the  doorbell,  bearing  the  word 
‘‘Millinery/’  or  a  trimmed  hat  placed  in  the  front  window. 
The  market  to  which  the  home  milliner  caters  is  limited  in  size 
and  area,  and  personal  in  character.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  so  small 
that  the  milliner  performs  all  the  work  herself.  Her  family,  her 
relatives,  some  of  her  friends  and  a  few  of  her  friends’  friends 
form  the  majority  of  her  patrons.  This  number  is  often  in¬ 
creased  by  customers  of  the  shop  in  which  she  formerly  worked, 
who  are  attracted  to  her  by  low  prices.  The  work  is  usually 
upon  “orders,”  and  the  milliner  rarely  maintains  a  supply  of 
materials,  and  still  more  rarely  any  stock  of  finished  goods. 
Much  of  the  work  of  many  home  milliners  consists  of  what  one 
Philadelphia  milliner  described  as  renovating  hats — that  is,  re¬ 
modelling  and  brightening  up  hats  that  have  lost  their  freshness. 

The  majority  of  private  milliners  are  either  former  employees 
of  larger  establishments,  cautiously  making  their  first  venture 
into  the  business  world,  or  workers  who  have  been  discouraged 
by  their  experience  in  the  trade  and  who  attempt  by  home 
millinery  to  supplement  other  sources  of  income.  Occasionally 
one  with  a  gift  for  millinery  has  never  learned  the  trade.  Often 
the  home  milliner  is  a  woman  with  native  ability  for  millinery 
who  has  learned  to  trim  her  own  hats  at  evening  schools,  or  from 
private  lessons  given  by  workers  or  employers  in  the  trade  or 
even  from  millinery  “colleges,”  and  has  gradually  extended  her 
market.  Again,  the  home  milliner  may  once  have  been  the 
owner  of  a  more  extensive  establishment,  as  was  the  case  of  one 
Philadelphia  milliner  who,  having  given  up  her  store,  had  re¬ 
tained  only  a  faithful  few  of  her  old  customers. 

So  little  capital  is  necessary  for  this  type  of  establishment  that 
to  many  workers  of  artistic  and  executive  ability,  home  millinery 
offers  an  opportunity  of  gaining  a  foothold  upon  the  business 
ladder.  No  machinery  is  necessary,  no  outlay  is  required  for 

establishment — the  millinery  parlor.  Probably  the  lowest  stage  of  indus¬ 
trial  evolution  in  the  millinery  trade  is  that  of  the  worker  corresponding 
to  the  seamstress  in  dressmaking  who  goes  from  house  to  house  of  her 
employers,  plying  her  trade.  One  such  worker  was  met  in  Boston,  but  the 
custom  is  practically  unheard  of,  and  the  one  case  hardly  justifies  a  sep¬ 
arate  classification. 


30 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


rent,  light  and  stock.  The  customers  often  bring  their  own  ma¬ 
terials  or  authorize  the  milliner  to  purchase  them.  The  extra 
trouble  entailed  by  the  selection  of  the  goods  is  repaid — 
whether  adequately  or  not  is  another  question — by  the  cash  dis¬ 
count  of  10  per  cent,  usually  granted  to  milliners  by  millinery 
jobbers  and  department  stores.  The  financial  success  of  the 
home  milliner  depends  to  a  very  large  degree  upon  her  patrons. 
The  milliner  bargains  directly  with  her  customers,  and  can  shift 
to  them  the  cost  of  materials.  After  all,  the  chief  attraction  of 
the  home  milliner  to  her  patrons  is  her  comparatively  low 
charges.  If  they  know  the  price  of  materials,  which  can  be  ob¬ 
tained  almost  as  cheaply  at  a  department  store  as  at  the  whole¬ 
sale  jobbers,  and  are  unwilling  to  pay  more  than  just  enough  to 
allow  the  milliner  the  10  per  cent,  discount  granted  for  cash, 
the  remuneration  of  the  home  milliner  is  perhaps  little  better 
than  the  wages  of  a  first-class  maker.  Unfortunately  the  aver¬ 
age  customer  of  private  millinery  cannot — or  will  not — under¬ 
stand  the  reason  for  a  special  return  for  artistic  ability  and 
insists  upon  paying  the  milliner  no  more  than  a  maker’s  wages. 
The  home  milliner  has,  however,  the  added  advantages  of  longer 
seasons  and  of  greater  independence.1 

The  business  of  a  private  milliner  may  become  so  large  as  to 
take  on  many  characteristics  of  the  next  type  of  establishment, 
the  millinery  parlor.  Undoubtedly  several  shops  may  be  found 
which  occupy  this  indefinite  borderland.  Such  an  establishment 
was  visited  in  Somerville  and  was  considered  the  best  shop  in 
the  city.  The  workroom  force  consisted  of  six  employees.  The 
making  and  selling  of  hats  were  carried  on  in  the  milliner’s  own 
home  occupying  three  rooms  of  her  large  house.  Two  such 
establishments  were  found  in  Philadelphia,  one  employing  7, 
the  other  17  workers. 

Parlor  millinery  represents  the  second  stage  in  the  industrial 
evolution  of  the  millinery  trade.  It  is  characterized  by  a  wider 
market  than  that  of  home  millinery,  by  the  separation  of  business 
from  the  home,  by  a  greater  outlay  of  capital  for  materials, 

lOne  of  the  12  private  milliners  visited  in  Philadelphia  employed  no 
workers,  3  employed  1  worker,  2  employed  2  workers,  2  employed  3 
workers,  2  employed  4  workers,  1  employed  7  workers,  and  1  employed 
17  workers. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


31 


finished  goods,  overhead  expenses,  and  credits,  and  by  a  larger 
working  force. 

The  personal  element  still  predominates  in  the  relations  be¬ 
tween  the  employer  and  her  customers  and  workers,  and  the 
market  of  the  parlor  milliner  is  more  extensive  than  that  of  the 
home  milliner.  Parlor  milliners  are  of  two  types — the  home 
milliner  who  thinks  her  business  will  justify  the  added  expense, 
and  the  millinery  worker  or  salesgirl  who  has  acquired  a 
clientele  among  the  customers  of  the  establishment  in  which  she 
worked.1  In  either  case,  the  following  is  a  purely  personal  one 
which  has  been  built  up  through  the  ability  of  the  milliner  to 
please  her  customers.  Most  of  the  work  of  such  an  establish¬ 
ment  is  “order  work,”  and  those  who  habitually  patronize  the 
millinery  parlor  are  customers  of  long  standing  whose  tastes 
the  milliner  has  studied. 

The  millinery  parlor  is  usually  situated  on  an  upper  floor  of 
an  office  building,  thus,  evidently,  making  no  attempt  to  attract 
street  trade.  The  majority  occupy  but  one  room  with  one  corner 
shut  off  by  curtains  for  a  workroom.  The  more  pretentious  par¬ 
lors  occupy  two  or  more  rooms.  One  parlor  may  consist  of  a 
carpeted  room  with  a  curtained-off  workroom,  containing  some 
hat  boxes,  a  chair  or  two,  and  a  mirror  and  displaying  a  few 
hats.  Another  parlor  may  consist  of  a  suite  of  furnished  rooms 
in  which  no  hats  are  displayed,  and  only  the  presence  of  several 
mirrors  with  chairs  in  front  of  them  serves  to  indicate  the  na¬ 
ture  of  the  business.  In  another  parlor  similarly  furnished 
there  may  be  fifty  or  sixty  models  about  the  room.  Thus  vari¬ 
ous  kinds  of  establishments,  indicating  varying  degrees  of  wealth 
and  fastidiousness  in  the  customers,  are  classed  together  as  par¬ 
lor  millinery,  for  they  have  the  common  characteristic  of  cater¬ 
ing  to  a  personal  clientele. 

Millinery  parlors  are  located  in  the  chief  shopping  district  of 
the  city.  Of  the  40  parlors  visited  in  Boston  37  were  in  office 
buildings  on  Boylston,  Tremont,  Washington  and  Winter  Streets, 
and  Temple  Place.  The  other  3  parlors  were  situated  in  three 
widely  separated  localities  of  the  city  and  might  have  been 

i  Sometimes  a  salesgirl  will  take  with  her  no  small  amount  of  her  em¬ 
ployer’s  business.  An  employer  estimated  that  one  of  his  salesgirls  took 
from  him  $5,000  worth  of  trade  into  her  own  business. 


32 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


classified  as  private  millinery.  The  5  parlors  visited  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  were  found  on  or  near  Chestnut,  Walnut  and  Spruce 
Streets. 

The  parlor  milliner  must  necessarily  employ  a  larger  capital 
than  the  home  milliner  to  meet  the  demands  of  her  more  ex¬ 
tended  market.  She  has  added  the  expense  of  office  rent  and 
furnishings.  A  larger  patronage  demands  more  workers,  and 
consequently  a  greater  wages-bill.  A  fairly  large  stock  of  ma¬ 
terials  must  be  maintained,  although  the  majority  of  parlor 
milliners  carry  very  little  stock  in  the  form  of  trimmed  hats. 
Capital  in  the  form  of  credit  extended  to  customers  must  also 
be  provided. 

The  problem  of  credit  is  a  vexing  one  to  the  milliner  of  this 
class.  It  weighs  especially  heavily  upon  the  small  shops  whose 
proprietors  have  barely  sufficient  capital  to  carry  on  business, 
but  who  must  extend  credit  for  fear  of  losing  patronage.  Busi¬ 
ness  relations  founded  chiefly  on  a  personal  basis  are  bound  to¬ 
gether  by  peculiarly  uncertain  and  unstable  ties.  It  is  an 
anomaly  of  human  nature  that  one  is  prone  to  demand  more 
unreasonable  favors  of  a  friend  or  relative  than  of  a  stranger. 
The  parlor  milliner,  depending  for  trade  mostly  upon  friends  and 
relatives,  may  be  forced  to  extend  credit  to  a  majority  of  her  cus¬ 
tomers,  who  often  pay  for  last  season’s  hats  as  they  are  ordering 
this  season’s.  Slow  payment  of  accounts  on  the  part  of  the 
customer  causes  serious  inconvenience  to  the  milliner  with  little 
capital,  who  sometimes  is  unable  to  meet  her  own  bills  promptly 
and  thus  loses  the  cash  discount  of  10  per  cent — an  item  which 
is  often  by  no  means  insignificant.1  The  difficulty,  of  course,  lies 
in  the  over-confidence  of  the  milliner  when  starting  in  business. 
Apparently  the  small  outlay  required  lures  the  ambitious 
worker,  equipped  with  little  capital.  What  she  often  fails  to 
realize  is  that  the  overhead  expenses  continue  throughout  the 
year,  while  the  trade  seasons  last  only  about  eight  months.  The 
proverbial  rainy  day  should  be  anticipated  when  the  milliner  un¬ 
dertakes  the  risks  and  uncertainties  of  business.2 

1  One  milliner  estimated  that  her  cash  discount  paid  her  rent. 

2  Some  idea  may  be  gained  of  the  slender  margin  of  many  milliners  when 
we  note  that  they  complain  of  extending  six  months’  credit  to  the  amount 
of  $100  or  even  less  each  season. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


33 


Forty  millinery  parlors  were  visited  in  Boston,  but  only  5 
establishments  of  this  class  could  be  found  in  Philadelphia. 
The  larger  workroom  force  of  the  millinery  parlor  is  a  mark  of 
industrial  advance  over  private  millinery.  Thirty-one  of  the  40 
parlors  visited  in  Boston  (about  78  per  cent.)  and  all  of  the  Phila¬ 
delphia  parlors  visited  employ  7  girls  or  less  in  their  workrooms.1 
The  largest  number  (14)  of  the  Boston  establishments  hired 
4  or  5  employees.  Parlor  millinery  on  a  small  scale,  then,  is 
typical.  The  explanation  is  simple.  In  19  of  the  40  parlors 
visited  in  Boston,  and  in  4  of  the  5  Philadelphia  parlors,  the  em¬ 
ployers  trimmed.  In  all  but  one  of  these  19  Boston  shops,  the 
force  varied  from  1  to  5  employees,  one,  only,  hiring  7  makers. 
A  trimmer  should  keep  from  4  to  8  makers  and  apprentices  busy, 
varying  with  her  speed  and  the  quality  of  work  demanded.  But 
the  parlor  milliner  must  wait  upon  customers,  take  orders  and 
attend  to  necessary  alterations,  so  that  much  of  her  time  is  oc¬ 
cupied  with  matters  other  than  trimming.  As  a  matter  of 
economy,  she  maintains  a  business  requiring  only  the  number 
of  assistants  which  she,  herself,  as  trimmer,  can  keep  busy. 
Many  proprietors  of  larger  establishments  who  can  trim,  often 
employ  a  trimmer  only  during  the  rush  season  and  dispense 
with  her  as  soon  as  work  slackens. 

So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  there  are  only  4  parlors  in 
Boston  employing  large  forces — 17,  20,  23  and  25  employ¬ 
ees  respectively.  These  parlors  verge  closely  upon  the  next 
stage,  the  millinery  store,  and  are  distinguished  from  it 
chiefly  by  their  location  on  the  upper  floors  of  office  build¬ 
ings. 

i 

The  millinery  store  represents  the  third  stage  of  the  indus¬ 
trial  evolution  of  the  millinery  trade.  This  stage  is  distinguished 
from  the  preceding  by  (1)  a  market  extended  to  include  ‘ ‘street’  ’ 
trade  as  well  as  the  personal  following,  (2)  a  greater  outlay  of 
capital  and  (3)  a  larger  working  force. 

The  milliner  of  this  stage  deliberately  sets  about  to  attract  the 

i  In  Boston  5  parlors  employed  1  worker,  1  employed  2  workers,  4  em¬ 
ployed  3  workers,  7  employed  4  workers,  7  employed  5  workers,  3  employed 
6  workers,.  4  employed  7  workers  and  7  employed  more  than  7  workers. 
Two  parlors  did  not  report.  In  Philadelphia  1  parlor  employed  1  worker,  2 
employed  2  workers,  1  employed  6  workers  and  I  employed  7  workers. 


34 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


passer-by.  For  this  purpose  she  rents  a  shop  on  some  business 
street  where  it  not  only  will  be  convenient  for  the  personal  fol¬ 
lowing  but  will  draw  the  attention  of  strangers.  She  diplays 
her  hats  in  attractive  show  windows  and  maintains  a  large  stock 
of  trimmed  hats  and  millinery  supplies  to  meet  the  possible  de¬ 
mands  of  this  “transient*’  or  “street”  trade.  Not  only  does 
she  choose  the  situation  of  her  store  to  attract  customers,  but 
she  adapts  her  hours  to  those  of  her  patrons.  The  closing  hours 
of  the  downtown  shops  are  regulated  by  those  of  the  department 
stores,  and  are  usually  from  five  to  six  o’clock.  The  hours  of 
the  outlying  shops  are  regulated  according  to  the  needs  and 
demands  of  the  neighborhood,  especially  in  a  section  where  a 
laboring  class  predominates.  The  stores  are  usually  open  every 
night  in  the  busy  season,  and  upon  stated  nights  in  the  dull  sea¬ 
son.  One  milliner  in  such  a  store  said  that  most  of  the  selling 
is  done  between  the  hours  of  three-thirty  and  ten  o’clock  in  the 
evening.  The  shops  in  Boston  in  the  lodging  districts  along 
Huntington  and  Columbus  Avenues  are  usually  open  late  in  the 
evening.  This  is  true  also  of  the  stores  of  Hanover  and  Lowell 
Streets  whose  customers  are  a  foreign  working  class.  In  Phila¬ 
delphia  in  the  local  shopping  streets  such  as  Frankford,  Colum¬ 
bia  and  Germantown  Avenues,  the  millinery  stores  are  open  in 
the  evening,  as  well  as  during  the  day.1 

Millinery  stores  differ  widely  in  external  appearances  and 
numbers  employed  according  to  the  wealth  and  tastes  of  the  cus¬ 
tomers  whom  they  serve.  The  shops  doing  cheap  work  employ 
from  1  to  12  workers,  while  the  fashionable  stores  may  employ 
from  7  to  70.  The  work  of  the  former  consists  very  largely  in 
altering  ready-made  hats  and  in  trimming  pressed  shapes;  of 
the  latter,  in  making  and  in  trimming  elaborate  hats,  in  blend¬ 
ing  colors  and  materials.  The  requisite  demanded  of  workers 
in  the  first  shop  is  speed,  in  the  latter,  neat  and  careful  work. 
Stores  of  the  first  type  aim  at  quantity  and  cheapness  of  prod¬ 
ucts,  and  the  rivalry  among  them  is  keen.  Stores  of  the  second 

i  Frequently  the  owners  of  the  stores  in  these  local  shopping  districts 
live  over  them.  This  was  true  of  shops  on  Lowell  Street,  Boston,  and 
Frankford  Avenue,  Philadelphia.  That  they  do  not  belong  to  the  home 
milliner  type  is  shown  by  their  strenuous  efforts  to  attract  transient  trade 
through  their  well-filled  display  windows  and  their  large  stock  of  trimmed 
hats  and  millinery  supplies. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


35 


type  aim  at  quality  and  individuality  of  product,  and  there  is 
some  not  very  open  competition. 

More  capital  is  required  for  a  millinery  store  than  for  a  mil¬ 
linery  parlor.  The  rent  for  the  street-floor  on  a  good  business 
street  becomes  a  heavy  item  of  expense.1  The  money  invested  in 
from  200  to  600  models  made  of  expensive  materials  and  in  the 
large  stock  of  materials  which  must  be  maintained  to  meet  pos¬ 
sible  demands,  is  by  no  means  a  small  amount.  Much  capital  is 
also  tied  up  for  the  proprietor  of  a  fashionable  shop  in  personal 
credit  extended  to  the  majority  of  customers.  The  owners  of 
stores  on  the  lowest  level  of  competition  as  a  rule,  however,  do 
business  on  a  strictly  cash  basis. 


TABLE  5,  SHOWING  THE  SIZE  OF  WORKROOM  FORCE  OF  BOSTON 
AND  PHILADELPHIA  MILLINERY  STORES.  BASED  ON 
REPORTS  FROM  EMPLOYERS.2 


Size  of  Workroom  Force 

NUMBER  OF  STORES  EMPLOYING  SPECIFIED 
NUMBER  OF  WORKERS 

Boston 

Philadelphia 

No  workers . 

1 

1 

1  worker . 

1 

3 

2  workers . 

1 

12 

3  workers . 

1 

6 

4  workers . 

2 

9 

5  workers . 

1 

7 

6  workers . 

5 

5 

7  workers . 

— 

5 

8  workers . 

3 

4 

9  workers . 

2 

2 

10  workers . 

2 

3 

12  workers . 

— 

2 

13  workers . 

1 

— 

14  workers . 

2 

— 

15  workers . 

4 

4 

16  workers . 

— 

2 

18  workers . 

2 

— 

20  workers . 

— 

1 

25  workers . 

— 

1 

26  workers . 

1 

— 

28  workers . 

2 

— 

30  workers . 

— 

2 

60  to  70  workers . 

1 

— 

Total  number . 

32 

69 

1  One  employer  claimed  to  pay  $8,000  a  year  rent  for  his  store,  and  other 
rents  as  high  as  $12,000  per  year  were  quoted. 

2  One  store  in  Boston  and  1  in  Philadelphia  did  not  report. 


36 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


The  milliner  of  this  stage  as  well  as  that  of  the  preceding 
seems  to  be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  over-confidence  when  start¬ 
ing  in  business.  Few  indeed  have  the  foresight  of  one  employee, 
the  forewoman  of  a  large  workroom,  whose  ambition  it  had  been 
to  open  a  little  store  in  a  good  locality.  ‘  ‘  I  want, 9 1  she  said,  ‘  ‘  to 
have  enough  money  ahead  to  pay  for  my  stock  and  the  first 
year’s  rent.”  This  is  an  excellent  precaution  for  any  young 
woman  to  adopt  in  contemplating  a  business  venture  in  a  fashion 
trade. 

Increase  in  the  size  of  the  working  force  marks  the  rise  in  the 
scale  of  industrial  development.  No  such  clearly  marked  type 
is  found  among  the  33  millinery  stores  visited  in  Boston  as  was 
found  among  the  millinery  parlors,  although  the  size  of  the  force 
is  usually  larger  than  in  the  millinery  parlors.  This  is  due  pri¬ 
marily  to  the  fact  that  the  owner  of  the  establishment  no  longer 
performs  the  function  of  the  worker,  but  finds  it  profitable  to 
increase  the  number  of  assistants.  In  only  3  stores  visited  in 
Boston  did  the  proprietor  perform  any  work  in  the  workroom. 
Those  3  employed  only  one  maker  or  none  at  all,  showing  that 
their  business  was  low  in  the  scale  of  economic  production.  The 
working  forces  of  the  Boston  stores  as  shown  by  Table  5,  ex¬ 
hibited  wide  variations  in  numbers,  ranging,  with  one  exception, 
from  0  to  28.  In  7  stores,  only,  the  numbers  employed  range 
from  0  to  5  workers;  19  (57  per  cent.)  employed  from  6  to  15 ; 
5  from  16  to  28 ;  and  1  from  60  to  70.  The  last  is  a  specialty 
store  and  produces  in  its  Boston  workroom  a  large  part  of  the 
stock  for  a  New  York  establishment.  Twenty -five,  or  about 
76  per  cent,  of  the  Boston  stores  visited,  employed  more  workers 
than  the  typical  Boston  parlor  milliner,  who  hired  5  or  less. 
In  Philadelphia  the  range  in  numbers  employed  was  practically 
the  same,  the  limits  being  with  but  two  exceptions  0  to  25.  The 
striking  variation  appears  in  the  size  of  the  force.  In  Phila¬ 
delphia  38  stores  (54  per  cent.)  employed  from  0  to  5  workers, 
and  only  25  (35  per  cent.)  employed  the  same  number  of  work¬ 
ers  as  the  majority  of  the  Boston  stores,  that  is,  from  6  to  15  in¬ 
clusive.  While  76  per  cent,  of  the  Boston  stores  employed  more 
workers  than  the  typical  Boston  parlor  milliner,  54  per  cent,  of 
the  Philadelphia  stores  employed  the  same  number  as  a  Boston 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


37 


milliner  of  a  lower  stage  of  production.  This  is  easily  explained. 
No  attempt  was  made  in  either  city  to  visit  the  same  proportion 
of  shops  of  each  type,  and  while  practically  the  same  number 
of  stores  and  parlors  were  visited  in  both  cities  (73  in  Boston, 
75  in  Philadelphia),  the  proportion  between  the  two  types  is 
different.  In  Boston  the  numbers  are  about  equal  (40  millinery 
parlors,  33  millinery  stores),  in  Philadelphia  the  millinery  store 
predominated,  only  five  millinery  parlors  being  found.  The  lack 
of  millinery  parlors  and  the  presence  of  the  large  number  of 
small  stores  in  Philadelphia  are  probably  due  to  the  following 
reasons :  ( 1 )  the  parlor  does  not  meet  the  demands  of  the  large 

mill  population  as  to  hours,  situation,  cheapness  of  product  and 
dispatch  in  selecting  hats,  which  the  store  does;  (2)  it  cannot 
compete  with  high-grade  shops  in  New  York,  which  are  near 
enough  to  affect  business  materially;  (3)  the  development  of  the 
millinery  department  of  the  department  store  in  Philadelphia 
has  probably  operated  to  check  the  growth  in  size  of  the  millinery 
stores. 

The  millinery  department  of  a  department  store  and  of  a 
women’s  furnishing  store  represents  the  fourth  stage  of  indus¬ 
trial  development  in  millinery  establishments.  This  stage  differs 
from  the  preceding  stages  (1)  in  that  the  market  is  no  longer 
a  personal  one,  (2)  in  the  outlay  of  a  greater  amount  of  capital, 
and  (3)  in  the  employment  of  a  larger  average  workroom  force. 

The  millinery  section  of  the  department  stores  ranges  from 
that  of  the  small  store  selling  in  the  main  ready-made  hats  and 
consequently  requiring  but  few  workers  in  the  workroom,  to 
the  department  in  the  large  store  catering  to  all  classes  of  custom¬ 
ers  with  its  millinery  supplies,  its  cheap,  ready-made  hats,  and 
its  ‘ 4  Paris  model  salon, 9  9  and  employing  a  large  force  of  millinery 
workers.  The  women’s  specialty  store  may  be  the  one  which 
makes  only  misses’  and  children’s  clothes,  or  it  may  constitute 
the  highest  class  custom  shop,  where  hats  are  made  to  match  the 
gowns  of  the  dressmaking  department. 

Personal  contact  between  customers  and  employers  is  not  a 
general  characteristic  of  the  millinery  departments  of  these 
stores.  Their  markets  extend  to  all  classes  of  people,  in  every 
part  of  the  city  and  even  in  nearby  towns  and  country.  Certain 


38 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


space  in  a  department  store  is  assigned  to  millinery  and  the  chief 
requirement  is  that  the  department  be  made  to  pay.  The  em¬ 
ployer  delegates  the  function  of  master  to  a  buyer  and  a  designer 
and  reserves  for  himself  that  of  merchant.  The  buyer  usually 
purchases  all  the  materials  and  hires  the  workers.  He  may  even 
employ  a  designer  who  is  usually  the  forewoman  of  the  work¬ 
room  as  well.  In  many  department  stores  two  different  kinds 
and  qualities  of  work  are  carried  on  and  kept  fairly  well  sepa¬ 
rated  from  each  other.  These  are  the  trimming  of  the  cheaper, 
ready-made  hats,  which  do  not  require  careful  work,  and  the 
making  of  high  grade  custom  hats,  which  demand  good  work¬ 
manship.  The  kind  of  work  varies  also  with  the  different  types 
of  establishments.  One  buyer  claims  to  check  up  the  output  of 
each  girl  and  knows  exactly  what  she  is  worth.  Her  speed  is 
the  gauge  of  her  value.  Another  buyer  in  a  high  grade  depart¬ 
ment  store  wants  only  expert  help,  and  will  not  keep  a  girl  who 
is  not  worth  a  good  wage.  The  work  done  in  this  store  rivals 
that  done  in  the  highest  type  of  millinery  store  or  parlor,  and 
quality  not  quantity  is  the  standard  for  judging  the  worth  of 
any  one  worker. 

A  greater  amount  of  capital  is  invested  in  the  millinery  de¬ 
partment  of  this  stage  than  in  the  preceding  stage,  and  it  is  ex¬ 
pended  not  so  much  upon  overhead  expenses  as  upon  finished  and 
unfinished  materials  and  the  wages-bill.  The  burden  of  over¬ 
head  expenses — rent,  heat  and  light — is  not  so  heavy  as  in  an 
exclusively  millinery  establishment,  for  the  show  rooms  may  be 
filled  with  other  goods  during  the  dull  season.  But  the  larger 
market  of  the  large  department  stored  requires  a  great  stock  of 
finished  and  unfinished  goods,  and  a  large  workroom  force. 

Competition  among  milliners,  especially  in  high  grade  custom 
work,  is  of  the  personal  sort.  Advertisements  are  rarely  placed 
in  the  papers,  and  the  attention  of  customers  is  called  to  open¬ 
ings  and  sales  by  cards  sent  to  patrons  or  by  notices  placed  in 
the  windows.  Department  stores,  because  of  the  economies  of 
large  scale  production  and  the  possibility  of  utilizing  millinery 
supplies  in  other  departments,  and  their  policy  of  widely  adver¬ 
tising  special  sales  and  openings,  are  active  competitors  of  all 
types  of  millinery  establishments.  By  ordering  large  quantities 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


39 


they  are  able  to  buy  directly  from  the  manufacturer  and  to  im¬ 
port  their  own  goods,  thus  saving  the  middleman’s  profits  which 
the  small  purchaser  must  pay.  They  can  even  obtain  better 
terms  from  the  middleman  than  can  the  smaller  establishment. 
The  possibility  of  placing  its  most  desirable  workers  in  other 
departments  during  the  dull  season  is  a  distinct  advantage  and 
an  economy  in  retaining  the  most  efficient  of  their  workers. 
On  the  whole,  the  economies  of  the  department  store  in  millinery 
reach  no  insignificant  amount,  and  the  consumer  reaps  the 
benefit  in  the  form  of  lower  prices.  The  large  variety,  con¬ 
venience,  and  dispatch  which  the  department  store  offers  are 
items  in  gaining  the  favor  of  customers.  For  many  patrons,  how¬ 
ever,  these  advantages  are  more  than  offset  by  lack  of  individual¬ 
ity.  The  department  store  is,  therefore,  not  likely  to  drive  the 
parlor  milliner  completely  out  of  business,  though  its  general 
convenience  makes  it  a  serious  competitor. 


TABLE  6,  SHOWING  THE  SIZE  OF  THE  WORKROOM  FORCES  OF  BOSTON 
AND  PHILADELPHIA  DEPARTMENT  AND  WOMEN’S  WEAR 
STORES.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  EMPLOYERS. 


Size  of  Workroom  Force 

NUMBER  OF  STORES  EMPLOYING  SPECIFIED 
NUMBER  OF  WORKERS 

Boston 

Philadelphia 

1  to  10  workers  .  .  .  . 

5 

4 

11  to  20  workers  .... 

'  3 

— 

21  to  30  workers  .... 

2 

.  1 

31  to  40  workers  .... 

3  i 

— 

41  to  50  workers  .... 

3 

— 

51  to  60  workers  .... 

1 

1 

61  to  70  workers  .... 

1 

— 

71  to  80  workers  .... 

— 

1 

01  to  100  workers  .... 

— 

3 

101  to  120  workers  .... 

1 

— 

200  workers . 

— 

1 

300  workers . 

— 

1 

Total . 

19 

12 

The  majority  of  department  stores  in  Boston  employ  work¬ 
room  forces  of  40  employees  or  less.  The  9  workrooms  employing 
31  or  more  workers  belong  to  the  largest  department  and  women’s 
furnishing  stores  in  Boston.  The  10  stores  employing  30  or  less 
may  be  characterized  as  follows :  2  work  entirely  upon  chil- 


40 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


dren’s  and  misses’  hats,  2  are  high  class  millinery  and  dress¬ 
making  establishments,  2  are  high  grade  smaller  department 
stores,  1  combines  furs  and  millinery,  and  3  are  cheap  depart¬ 
ment  stores,  one  of  which  took  up  millinery  within  the  year 
purely  as  an  experiment.  In  Philadelphia  the  7  workrooms  hav¬ 
ing  more  than  31  employees  are  in  the  largest  department  stores. 
Of  the  5  having  less,  2  are  women ’s  furnishing  stores,  2  are  small 
cheap  department  stores  and  1  is  a  store  with  a  special  class  of 
trade.  These  figures  seem  to  indicate  that  the  smaller  working 
forces  are  employed  either  in  the  smaller,  cheaper  department 
stores,  which  carry  a  large  quantity  of  ready-made  hats  pur¬ 
chased  from  wholesale  firms,  or  in  the  women ’s  furnishing  stores 
which  emphasize  quality  and  not  quantity,  and  where  millinery 
is  subsidiary  to  other  lines.  The  size  of  the  millinery  depart¬ 
ments  of  Philadelphia  department  stores  can  be  set  forth  by  com¬ 
paring  the  number  employed  in  this  type  of  establishment  in 
both  cities  with  the  total  number  of  millinery  workers.  In  Phila¬ 
delphia  the  number  employed  during  the  busy  season  in  the  12 
department  stores  visited  was  981,  over  50  per  cent,  of  the  total 
number  (1959)  employed  in  the  city,  while  in  Boston  the  num¬ 
ber  employed  in  the  21  stores  visited  amounted  to  533,  only  38 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number  employed  (1429). 

Wholesale  millinery /  though  still  a  hand  trade,  is  characterized 
by  some  standardization  of  product,  by  the  production  of  goods 
for  a  general  market  and  by  the  interposition  of  a  middleman 
between  producer  and  consumer.  Although  the  tools  of  produc¬ 
tion  remain  the  same  throughout  the  trade,  wholesale  millinery 
may  be  said  to  represent  the  factory  stage  in  the  industrial  evolu¬ 
tion  of  millinery.  It  is  marked  (1)  by  a  market  of  wide  area 
which  may  include  the  whole  country,  (2)  by  the  investment  of 
a  large  amount  of  capital,  (3)  by  a  large  working  force.  The 
wholesale  division  includes:  (1)  the  jobber2  who  sells  mil¬ 
linery  supplies  only,  such  as  flowers,  feathers,  straw  and  felt 

1  Wholesale  millinery  must  not  be  confused  with  straw  machine  operat¬ 
ing — the  making  of  straw  hats  by  machine — and  felt  hat  making.  The 
basic  principles  of  the  two  are  different  and  form  the  foundation  of  two 
distinct  trades.  Wholesale  millinery  is  a  hand  trade,  while  straw  machine 
operating  is  a  machine  trade,  and  should  be  placed  under  the  general  class 
of  machine  operating. 

2  A  study  of  the  millinery  jobber  was  omitted  as  not  pertinent.  For  a 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


41 


goods,  frames,  silks,  velvets,  chiffon,  ribbons,  wires,  and  who  is 
virtually  the  middleman  between  the  manufacturer  of  these  sup¬ 
plies  and  the  retailer;  (2)  the  wholesale  milliner,  who  combines 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  handmade  hats  with  the  sale  of 
millinery  supplies;  and  (3)  the  wholesale  manufacturing  milliner 
(the  term  used  in  the  trade)  who  is  engaged  solely  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  ready-made  hats  and  who  does  not  sell 
any  millinery  supplies.  Thus  the  wholesale  division  includes 
the  fifth  and  sixth  stages  in  the  industrial  evolution  of  the  trade. 

Wholesale  millinery  is  found  in  both  Boston  and  Philadelphia, 
but  is  more  numerous  and  more  highly  developed  in  the  former 
city,  due,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  last  stage  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  trade — wholesale  manufacturing  millinery — does  not 
exist  in  Boston.  The  market  of  the  wholesale  milliner  is  both 
local  and  foreign  and  is  extended  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  city  by  salesmen  with  samples  of  ready-made  hats.  The 
department  stores  and  the  cheaper  millinery  shops  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  cities  form  the  local  market.  The  volume  of  business  of  this 
class  of  establishment  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  however,  is 
not  large  enough  to  make  them  serious  competitors  in  the  for¬ 
eign  wholesale  market.  Certainly  the  influence  of  Boston  as  a 
competitor  of  New  York  does  not  extend  much  beyond  New 
England,  whereas  New  York  invades  the  home  territory  of  the 
Boston  houses.  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  therefore,  with  their 
few  small  workrooms  cannot  compete  seriously  with  New  York 
in  the  wholesale  trade.  Only  the  Philadelphia  wholesale  manu¬ 
facturing  millinery  establishments  of  the  next  stage  compete 
actively  beyond  the  local  territory. 

The  product  of  the  wholesale  millinery  establishments  in  Bos¬ 
ton  and  Philadelphia  is  the  cheaper,  ready-made  variety,  the 
retail  prices  ranging  from  $1.49  to  $4.98.  The  better  grade  of 
tailored  hats  is  not  manufactured  in  either  Boston  or  Philadel- 

few  weeks  before  the  “opening”  many  wholesale  jobbers  employ  workers  to 
make  up  a  number  of  “models”  in  order  to  illustrate  the  new  styles  and  to 
display  their  materials  for  the  benefit  of  buyers.  These  models  are  made 
usually  by  workers  from  country  shops  or  from  the  city  who  thus  learn 
of  the  new  fashions,  and  also  get  in  touch  with  employers  looking  for 
workers. 


42 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


phia.  Fine  work  is  not  required  of  the  workers  whose  most 
valuable  asset  is  speed,  which  may  be  fairly  easily  acquired  when 
engaged  on  one  model  for  weeks  at  a  time.  Payment  by  the 
piece,  moreover,  tends  to  result  in  speed  rather  than  in  careful 
work. 

The  overhead  expenses  of  both  the  wholesale  millinery  estab¬ 
lishments  and  the  wholesale  manufacturing  milliners  are  prob¬ 
ably  less  than  those  of  the  department  stores.  Lower  rents  are 
paid  for  factory  lofts  than  for  department  stores,  and  the  pro¬ 
visions  for  displaying  the  goods  are  not  elaborate.  The  lower 
overhead  charges  of  the  wholesale  milliner  are,  however,  offset 
to  some  extent  by  the  expenses  of  traveling  salesmen,  and  of 
transportation. 

All  the  wholesale  houses  of  Boston  were  visited  and  about  half 
of  those  of  Philadelphia.  These  establishments,  as  other  milli¬ 
nery  types,  show  a  tendency  to  congregate  along  certain  streets, 
in  the  wholesale  district  of  the  city,  in  Boston  on  or  near  Summer 
Street,  in  Philadelphia  on  or  near  Arch  Street.  The  workroom 
forces  in  Boston  varied  in  number  from  9  to  50.  Of  the  9 
establishments,  3  employed  from  9  to  20  workers,  4  from  30  to 
40  and  2  from  40  to  50.  Of  the  Philadelphia  workrooms,  1  did 
not  report,  1  employed  from  13  to  15,  and  the  other,  25  workers. 

The  sixth  type  of  millinery  establishment,  wholesale  manufac¬ 
turing  millinery ,  exists  in  Philadelphia  but  not  in  Boston.  It 
is  distinguished  from  the  previous  stage  by  its  wider  market, 
necessitating  a  larger  capital  and  larger  workroom  force  and  the 
long  and  steady  seasons. 

The  market  of  wholesale  manufacturing  millinery  extends 
throughout  the  whole  country.  The  volume  of  business  is  so 
great  as  to  make  the  work  steady  and  practically  continuous 
through  the  year.  The  workroom  shuts  down  only  about  2  or  3 
weeks  each  season,  in  May  and  in  October.  The  quality  of  work 
required  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  wholesale  millinery 
establishment  and  demands  the  same  requisites  of  the  employees 
— speed  and  not  very  fine  work.  The  workers,  however,  were 
not  paid  by  the  piece  as  in  wholesale  millinery,  but  by  the  week. 
Long  seasons  and  steady  work  constitute  the  great  advantages 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  SHOPS 


43 


of  this  type  of  establishment  for  the  usual  employee.  Only  2 
wholesale  millinery  establishments  were  found  in  Philadelphia. 
Both  had  large  workroom  forces;  one  employed  from  80  to  90, 
the  other  from  250  to  300  workers. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SEASONS  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS 

SECTION  I 

Seasons  and  the  Trade 

Practically  all  industries  are  subject  to  seasonal  fluctuations, 
differing  from  each  other  only  in  degree.  Climatic  changes, 
social  activity,  traditions  and  customs,  and  certain  purely 
economic  causes  such  as  the  variations  in  the  supply  of  raw  ma¬ 
terial  or  a  saving  by  production  at  certain  seasons,  form  the  chief 
causes  of  such  irregularity.1  Seasonal  fluctuations  tend  to  be¬ 
come  less  marked  in  trades  requiring  expensive  machinery,  and 
to  be  more  apparent  as  the  mechanical  equipment  becomes  more 
simple.  Millinery  is  influenced  by  most  of  the  factors  indicated 
and  the  seasons  present  the  most  important  problems  of  the 
trade  both  for  employers  and  employees. 

There  were  formerly  four  seasons  in  the  millinery  trade,  sum¬ 
mer,  autumn,  winter  and  spring.  Two  of  these,  the  winter  and 
summer  seasons,  have  disappeared  for  reasons  already  noted — 
the  summer  exodus  of  customers  from  the  city  to  the  country, 
the  vogue  of  small  automobile  hats,  and  the  exclusion  of  hats 
from  theater  and  opera.  The  loss  of  two  seasons  may  account 
for  divergence  of  opinion  among  employers  as  to  change  in 
length  of  the  seasons,  the  majority  of  them  asserting  that  the 
seasons  have  grown  shorter. 

Fairly  definite  dates  serve  to  delimit  the  retail  seasons  for  em¬ 
ployers — Easter  and  the  Fourth  of  July  for  the  spring  season, 
Labor  Day  and  Thanksgiving  for  the  fall  season.  The  extra 
work  of  the  rush  season  is  accomplished  by  employing  more 
workers,  by  overtime  and  by  speeding  up.  The  curve  of  em- 

i  Seasonal  Trades ,  by  various  writers,  edited  by  Sidney  Webb  and  Ar¬ 
nold  Freeman.  (London,  1912.)  Pp.  33-36. 


SEASONS 


45 


ployment  usually  rises  sharply,  continues  along  a  fairly  even 
level  for  some  weeks,  and  either  drops  suddenly  or  slowly  de¬ 
clines  towards  the  dull  time.  The  speeding  up  curve  may  be 
observed  in  the  figures  for  each  week.  The  work  of  the  week 
usually  begins  with  the  filling  of  a  few  orders  postponed  from 
the  preceding  week  and  with  the  making  of  models  to  replen¬ 
ish  the  supply  of  stock  hats.  Work  at  the  first  of  the  week 
is  often  not  rushed  even  in  the  busy  season.  The  week-end  rush 
begins  about  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  the  ordinary  pace  is 
accelerated.  Thursday  and  Friday  are  busy  days,  and  by  Sat¬ 
urday  afternoon  the  force  is  pushed  at  high  speed  to  satisfy  ex¬ 
acting  customers.  Overtime  is  invariably  demanded  Thursday, 
Friday  or  Saturday  if  required  at  all.  Could  a  curve  be  plotted 
from  data  as  to  the  daily  output  of  the  workroom,  the  result 
would  be  a  most  illuminating  representation  of  this  phase  of  the 
season  question  in  millinery. 

The  length  of  the  seasons  in  each  type  of  establishment  is 
practically  the  same  in  both  of  the  cities  under  consideration, 
Philadelphia,  perhaps,  having  a  little  earlier  fall  season.  The 
wholesale  houses,  since  they  supply  retail  firms,  open  the  milli¬ 
nery  season.  The  manufacturing  wholesale  millinery  establish¬ 
ments  of  Philadelphia,  because  of  their  wide  market,  form  the 
only  exception  to  the  uniformity  of  the  seasons  of  other  classes 
of  establishments.  Work  upon  spring  hats  in  these  houses 
begins  about  the  first  of  November  and  ends  from  the  first  to  the 
fifteenth  of  May;  work  upon  fall  hats  begins  either  the  middle 
of  May  or  the  first  of  June,  and  lasts  until  about  the  middle  of 
October.  The  workroom  is  shut  down  two  or  three  weeks  only 
between  seasons.  The  length  of  season  (from  10J  to  11  months) 
is  longer  than  in  any  other  type  of  shop. 

The  total  length  of  the  busy  seasons  varies  each  year  in  each 
type  of  establishment,  affected  by  weather  conditions  and  fash¬ 
ions,  and  usually  ranges  from  6  months  in  parlor  millinery  to 
8  or  9  months  in  wholesale  millinery.  The  wholesale  manufac¬ 
turing  millinery  establishments  have,  however,  a  10J  to  11 
months  season.  During  each  season  in  the  majority  of  shops 
there  are  only  8  to  10  weeks  of  rush  work.  A  large  number  of 
workers  are  thus  taken  on  at  the  rush  time,  work  is  done  under 


46 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


high  nervous  tension  and  sometimes  overtime  is  required.  As 
work  slackens,  employees  are  laid  off  and  only  a  few  retained 
to  fill  the  diminishing  volume  of  orders.  The  preceding  figures, 
therefore,  do  not  represent  the  length  of  the  workers’  seasons, 
but  only  that  of  the  trade. 

The  dull  season  force  is  handled  in  various  ways.  Firms  em¬ 
ploying  a  few  girls  for  the  slack  time  usually  do  not  keep  all  of 
them  throughout  the  dull  season,  but  give  them  three  or  four 
weeks’  vacation  in  the  winter  and  perhaps  six  in  the  summer. 
Or  the  girls  may  come  in  two  or  three  days  a  week  as  work  re¬ 
quires,  and  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  come  whenever  their 
employer  sends  for  them.  Some  firms  practice  giving  the  work¬ 
ers  alternating  vacations  in  the  dull  seasons,  so  that  the  entire 
force  is  not  employed  at  any  given  time.  In  large  shops,  one  or 
two  trimmers  and  a  few  makers  are  kept  throughout  the  year, 
and  these  are  generally  the  “best,  all-round”  makers  and  not 
necessarily  the  most  expensive  trimmers.  For  many  makers 
these  opportunities  of  the  dull  season  result  in  advancement  into 
the  trimmer  class.  Many  of  the  parlor  milliners  of  both  cities 
employ  no  workers  during  the  dull  season.  Either  the  manager 
does  the  work  herself  or  the  shop  is  closed.  In  Boston  14  of 
the  34  parlors  reporting,  in  Philadelphia  4  of  the  5  visited,  dis¬ 
missed  their  whole  force  in  dull  times.  As  a  rule  the  parlor 
milliner  employs  1  or  2  “general”  makers,  either  giving  them 
shorter  vacations  than  the  rest  of  her  force  or  sending  for  them 
as  they  are  needed.  The  Boston  millinery  stores,  in  contrast  to 
the  parlors,  seldom  dismiss  all  their  employees  during  the  dull 
season.  Only  four  small  stores  reported  no  workers  in  the  slack 
months.  In  Philadelphia  a  larger  number  of  stores  employed  no 
workers  during  the  dull  season — 33  of  the  67  reporting. 

Information  as  to  seasons  obtained  through  conversation  with 
employers  has  been  supplemented  and  made  more  exact  by  data 
taken  from  Boston  millinery  pay  rolls.  Complete  pay  rolls  for 
the  year  1912  were  secured  from  3  department  stores,  2  whole¬ 
sale  millinery  establishments  and  2  millinery  parlors;  incom¬ 
plete  pay  rolls  were  obtained  from  1  department  and  1  millinery 
store.  One  cannot  generalize  from  such  insufficient  data,  but 
certain  tendencies  may  be  noted. 


SEASONS 


47 


TABLE  7,  SHOWING  THE  REDUCTION  IN  SIZE  OF  WORKROOM  FORCE 
DURING  THE  DULL  SEASON  IN  BOSTON.  BASED  ON 
REPORTS  FROM  EMPLOYERS. 


Type  of 
Establishment 

Number 
of  Firms 
Reporting 

Number  Em¬ 
ployed  in 
the  Busy 
Season  1 

Number  Em¬ 
ployed  in  the 
Dull  Season 

Per  Cent. 
Reduction 

Number  of 
Firms  Em¬ 
ploying  no 
Workers  in 
Dull  Season 

Wholesale 

9 

285 

18 

93.6 

— 

Department 
store  . 

19 

533 

50 

90.6 

3 

Store 

32 

387 

44 

88.7 

4 

Parlor 

37 

224 

31 

86.1 

14 

Total 

97 

1,429 

143 

92.8 

21 

i  Two  department  stores,  1  millinery  store,  and  3  millinery  parlors  did 
not  report  as  to  number  employed  in  the  busy  season. 


The  rate  of  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  workroom  force  during 
the  dull  season  is,  according  to  reports  from  employers,  about 
the  same  for  two  cities.  At  the  height  of  the  busy  season — 
as  shown  by  Table  7 — 1,429  girls  are  employed  in  97  millinery 
workrooms  in  Boston.  In  76  shops  143  workers  were  employed 


TABLE  8,  SHOWING  THE  REDUCTION  IN  SIZE  OF  WORKROOM  FORCE 
DURING  THE  DULL  SEASON  IN  PHILADELPHIA.  BASED 
ON  REPORTS  FROM  EMPLOYERS. 


Type  of 
Establishment 

Number 
of  Firms 
Reporting 

Number  Em¬ 
ployed  in 
the  Busy 
Season  1 

Number  Em¬ 
ployed  in 
Dull  Season 

Per  Cent. 
Reduction 

Number  of 
Firms  Em¬ 
ploying  no 
Workers  in 
Dull  Season 

Wholesale 

Department 

2 

40 

3 

92.5 

1 

store  . 

12 

981 

159 

83.9 

2 

Millinery 

store  . 

69 

485 

65 

86.6 

33 

Parlor 

5 

18 

2 

88.9 

4 

Manufactur- 

ing  whole¬ 
sale  milli- 

nery 

2 

385 

— 

100. 

2 

Home 

12 

50 

3 

94. 

8 

Total 

102 

1,959 

232 

88.1 

50 

i  In  the  totals  for  the  busy  season  are  included  165  workers  not  classi¬ 
fied  by  occupation,  and  omitted  in  Table  4.  One  wholesale  house  and  1 
millinery  store  did  not  report  as  to  busy  season  employment. 


48 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  9,  SHOWING  FLUCTUATION,  WEEK  BY  WEEK,  IN  SIZE  OF  WORKROOM  FORCE 
IN  8  BOSTON  ESTABLISHMENTS  FOR  THE  YEAR  1912.1  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Week 

Ending 

Number  Employed  for  Specified  Weeks  in 

Grand 

Total 

Department 

Store 

Wholesale 

Shop 

Millinery 

Store 

Millinery 

Parlor 

A 

B 

C 

Total 

A 

B 

Total 

A 

A 

B 

Total 

January 

6 

• 

5 

13 

8 

26 

— 

6 

6 

i  i  ■ 

1 

3 

4 

36 

J  anuary 

13 

• 

7 

14 

10 

31 

— 

6 

6 

— 

1 

5 

6 

43 

J  anuary 

20 

• 

5 

19 

10 

34 

2 

3 

5 

— 

1 

5 

6 

45 

January 

27 

• 

6 

18 

10 

34 

6 

3 

9 

— 

1 

7 

8 

51 

February 

3 

• 

5 

20 

10 

35 

2 

6 

8 

— 

2 

5 

7 

50 

February 

10 

• 

7 

21 

11 

39 

5 

6 

11 

— 

2 

6 

8 

58 

February 

17 

• 

6 

28 

6 

40 

10 

6 

16 

— 

2 

7 

9 

65 

February 

24 

• 

7 

30 

12 

49 

27 

6 

33 

— 

2 

10 

12 

94 

March 

2 

• 

8 

76 

14 

98 

24 

9 

33 

— 

5 

16 

21 

152 

March 

9 

20 

79 

22 

121 

25 

12 

37 

— 

5 

16 

21 

179 

March 

16 

# 

21 

78 

27 

126 

15 

12 

27 

— 

5 

18 

23 

176 

March 

23 

• 

22 

79 

21 

122 

12 

12 

24 

— 

5 

18 

23 

169 

March 

30 

• 

20 

76 

21 

117 

11 

13 

24 

— 

5 

18 

23 

164 

April 

6 

• 

21 

80 

26 

127 

11 

14 

25 

— 

5 

17 

22 

174 

April 

13 

• 

20 

80 

28 

128 

11 

15 

26 

— 

5 

17 

22 

176 

April 

20 

• 

20 

79 

26 

125 

10 

14 

24 

— 

5 

17 

22 

171 

April 

27 

• 

18 

78 

25 

121 

10 

14 

24 

— 

5 

15 

20 

165 

May 

4 

# 

19 

78 

22 

119 

10 

14 

24 

— 

5 

12 

17 

160 

May 

11 

# 

19 

78 

24 

121 

10 

14 

24 

— 

5 

8 

13 

158 

May 

18 

• 

19 

70 

24 

113 

8 

10 

18 

— 

5 

8 

13 

144 

May 

25 

• 

16 

48 

16 

80 

8 

9 

17 

— 

5 

8 

13 

110 

June 

1 

• 

10 

44 

15 

69 

5 

12 

17 

— 

5 

7 

12 

98 

June 

8 

12 

39 

15 

66 

3 

10 

13 

— 

3 

7 

10 

89 

June 

15 

# 

12 

37 

15 

64 

2 

11 

13 

— 

3 

7 

10 

88 

June 

22 

9 

34 

14 

57 

2 

12 

14 

— 

3 

6 

9 

80 

June 

29 

# 

9 

30 

14 

53 

— 

10 

10 

— 

3 

5 

8 

71 

July 

6 

9 

31 

14 

54 

— 

7 

7 

— 

2 

6 

8 

i  69 

July 

13 

# 

9 

21 

9 

39 

— 

6 

6 

— 

2 

4 

6 

i  51 

July 

20 

# 

9 

19 

9 

37 

2 

3 

5 

— 

1 

4 

5 

47 

July 

27 

# 

8 

14 

8 

30 

4 

3 

7 

— 

1 

4 

5 

42 

August 

3 

# 

7 

14 

10 

31 

4 

7 

11 

5 

1 

4 

5 

'  52 

August 

10 

s 

7 

12 

8 

27 

7 

13 

20 

4 

1 

2 

3 

54 

August 

17 

9 

5 

11 

5 

21 

10 

13 

23 

3 

1 

2 

3 

1  50 

August 

24 

• 

6 

18 

5 

29 

14 

14 

28 

4 

1 

2 

3 

64 

August 

31 

• 

5 

35 

3 

43 

17 

13 

30 

6 

1 

2 

3 

82 

September 

7 

18 

46 

24 

88 

13 

19 

32 

6 

6 

10 

16 

'  142 

September  14 

9 

18 

46 

24 

88 

9 

22 

31 

6 

6 

16 

22 

147 

September 

21 

16 

51 

24 

91 

7 

22 

29 

6 

6 

18 

24 

150 

September  28 

• 

16 

77 

24 

117 

7 

21 

28 

6 

6 

18 

24 

'  175 

October 

5 

• 

17 

78 

25 

120 

6 

21 

27 

5 

9 

19 

28 

180 

October 

12 

• 

17 

78 

25 

120 

6 

21 

27 

5 

9 

18 

27 

179 

October 

19 

17 

77 

22 

116 

6 

21 

27 

5 

9 

17 

26 

174 

October 

26 

17 

77 

21 

115 

2 

21 

23 

5 

8 

17 

25 

168 

November 

2 

17 

76 

3 

96 

— 

19 

19 

5 

5 

17 

22 

142 

November 

9 

17 

75 

5 

97 

— 

14 

14 

5 

5 

15 

20 

>  136 

November 

16 

17 

60 

5 

82 

— 

9 

9 

5 

5 

14 

19 

115 

November 

23 

12 

50 

5 

67 

— 

6 

6 

5 

5 

13 

18 

96 

November 

30 

9 

41 

5 

55 

— 

6 

6 

5 

4 

12 

16 

82 

December 

7 

6 

28 

4 

38 

— 

6 

6 

5 

2 

8 

10 

59 

December 

14 

9 

6 

28 

4 

38 

— 

6 

6 

3 

2 

7 

9 

56 

December 

21 

9 

6 

25 

4 

35 

— 

8 

8 

3 

2 

7 

9 

55 

December 

28 

• 

5 

23 

3 

31 

— 

8 

8 

2 

2 

5 

7 

48 

i  The  shops  are  numbered  A,  B,  and  C  for  convenience  of  use  in  the  text  and  the 
charts. 


SEASONS 


49 


during  the  slack  season,1  a  total  reduction  in  the  working 
force  of  about  93  per  cent.  In  Philadelphia,  Table  8  shows 
1,959  workers  employed  in  102  shops  at  the  height  of  the 
busy  season.  Ninety-eight  firms  employed  232  workers  during 
the  dull  season — a  total  reduction  of  88  per  cent.  The  7  com¬ 
plete  pay  rolls  given  in  Table  9  represent  Boston  workroom 
forces  varying  from  a  maximum  of  207  to  a  minimum  of  25 
workers,  counting  the  busiest  and  dullest  weeks  for  each  shop — • 
a  reduction  of  88.1  per  cent.  This  percentage  verifies  the  em¬ 
ployers  ’  estimates.  The  percentage  of  reduction  based  upon  pay 
roll  figures  would  be  greater  were  it  not  for  the  large  proportion 
of  workers  in  department  stores  where  large  forces  are  retained 
during  the  dull  season.  The  workroom  forces  of  the  3  depart¬ 
ment  stores,  A,  B,  and  C,  diminished  in  size  from  130  to  19 
workers  in  the  dull  season — a  total  reduction  of  85.4  per  cent. ; 
while  the  number  of  workers  employed  in  the  4  other  establish¬ 
ments — 2  wholesale  houses  and  2  millinery  parlors — varied  from 
77  to  6,  making  a  total  reduction  of  92.2  per  cent. 

Curves  plotted  upon  the  weekly  pay  rolls  show  that  neither  the 
reduction  of  the  workroom  force  in  the  dull  season  nor  the  in¬ 
crease  in  the  busy  season  is  a  gradual  process.  The  seasonal 
curves  of  the  retail  establishments,  as  shown  in  Chart  I,  are 
sufficiently  alike  to  justify  certain  generalizations.  The  spring 
season  seems  to  be  longer  than  the  fall  season,  and  the  greatest 
rush  of  work  comes  at  that  time.  The  employment  curve  for 
the  summer  dull  season  drops  lower  than  that  of  the  winter 
dull  season,  and  reaches  its  lowest  point  sometime  in  August. 
Easter  Sunday  fell  on  the  7th  of  April  in  1912,  and  this  date  is 
marked  in  the  curves  by  the  sharp  rise  the  week  ending  April 
6th.  The  peak  of  the  curve,  however,  during  the  spring  season 
was  reached  not  during  the  week  immediately  preceding  Easter 
but  during  the  week  following.  The  curves  either  remain  sta- 

i  Either  no  data  at  all  were  obtained  from  the  other  21  firms,  or  such 
indefinite  information  was  given  as  “we  keep  practically  all  our  girls,”  or 
“our  force  is  about  the  same  the  year  round,”  or,  “our  girls  get  about  11 
months’  work.”  Although  the  data  as  to  dull  season  employment  were 
obtained  from  fewer  firms  than  that  for  busy  time  employment,  the  statis¬ 
tics  are  fairly  accurate  as  the  firms  failing  to  report  were  small  and 
probably  retained  no  workers  or  so  few  as  not  seriously  to  affect  the  per¬ 
centages. 


number  OF  CHART  I,  SHOWING  WEEKLY  FLUCTUATION  IN  SIZE  OF  WORKROOM  FORCE  OF  THREE  BOSTON  number  of 

WORKERS  WORKERS 

employed  DEPARTMENT  STORES  AND  TWO  MILLINERY  PARLORS.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS  FOR  THE  YEAR  igi2.  employed 

140  r~r  r  i  r  ii  i  i  ii  i  i  i  .-r-i r- . r-  ,  i  i  i  i1 1  i  ,  ,  i  ,  i  i  t  i  i  i  i  i  i  ,  ,  ,  ,  i  i  'i  mo 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


50 


8 

rH 


week  6  13  20  27  3  10  17  24  2  9  16  23  30  6  13  20  27  4 Ml  18  26  1  8  -16  22  29  6  13  20  27  3  10  17  24  31  7  14  21  28  5  12  19  26  2  9  16  23  30  7  14  21  28  WEEK 
ENDING  January  February  March  ,r  .April  May  June  July  .  August  September  October  November  December  ENDING 


SEASONS 


51 


tionary  or  rise  slightly  during  this  week,  after  which  they  begin 
to  fall. 

The  seasonal  side  of  millinery  and  the  amount  of  unemploy¬ 
ment  it  entails  upon  its  workers  is  again  seen  from  the  follow¬ 
ing  Table  10,  based  upon  the  total  weekly  employment  of  the  Bos¬ 
ton  retail  establishments.  The  table  shows  the  working  season 
upon  which  workers  can  count  and  what  proportion  of  workers 
may  count  on  such  seasons. 


TABLE  10,  SHOWING  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  IN  THE  YEAR  1912 
FOR  WORKERS  IN  5  BOSTON  RETAIL  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Workers  Employed 

Specified  Number 

of  Weeks 

Number  of  Weeks  of  Employment 

Number 

Per  Cent,  of 

Force  in  Week 
of  Maximum 
Employment 

10  weeks  or  less . 

112  to  150 

75  to  100 

20  weeks  and  under  28  ... 

75  to  112 

50  to  75 

28  weeks  and  under  46  ... 

38  to  75 

25  to  50 

46  weeks  and  under  52  ... 

Less  than  38 

Less  than  25 

Only  2  pay  rolls  were  obtained  from  Boston  wholesale  houses. 
These  employed  32  workers  at  the  height  of  the  busy  season  and 
5  during  the  dull  season.  One  wholesale  house  closed  its  work¬ 
room  for  three  weeks  in  June  and  July,  and  11  weeks  in  the  win¬ 
ter — from  the  first  of  November  to  the  week  ending  January  20. 
The  curves  in  Chart  II  show  decided  differences  in  the  seasons 
of  the  two  establishments.  The  shop  which  closes  its  workroom 
part  of  the  year  begins  its  seasons  earlier  than  the  retail  shops, 
while  the  seasons  of  the  other  tend  to  coincide  with  those  of 
department  stores. 

SECTION  II 

The  Seasons  and  the  Workers 

The  problem  of  unemployment  during  the  dull  seasons  is  vital 
to  the  workers  in  the  trade.  Although  the  Boston  pay  rolls  con¬ 
firm  the  information  received  from  the  employees,  these  statistics 
can  hardly  be  considered  final  on  the  question.  The  pay  rolls 


52  MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


SEASONS 


53 


furnish  data  as  to  the  number  of  weeks  workers  were  employed 
in  these  7  establishments  during  the  year,  but  they  do  not  show 
whether  the  workers  were  employed  in  other  millinery  establish¬ 
ments  during  the  same  year.  The  time  of  year  at  which  they 
were  employed  indicates  that  some  of  the  workers  went  into  the 
wholesale  houses  temporarily  until  they  obtained  positions  else¬ 
where,  probably  in  retail  establishments.  No  pay  rolls  were  se¬ 
cured  in  Philadelphia  but  the  data  obtained  from  workers  show 
that  the  length  of  season  is  about  the  same  in  the  two  cities. 

Seasons  vary  for  individuals  not  only  with  the  type  of  estab¬ 
lishment  but  also  with  the  occupation  of  workers.  In  general  the 
trimmers  of  both  cities  worked  during  longer  seasons  than  the 
makers,  and  the  makers,  than  the  apprentices.  The  length  of 
each  worker’s  season  varied  not  only  with  the  fashions  and  the 
weather  but  with  her  skill,  adaptability  and  usefulness. 

The  length  of  employment  during  the  first  year  or  appren¬ 
ticeship  period  is  not  important.  The  vital  question  is  the 
amount  and  kind  of  training  received.  Employers  usually  re¬ 
quire  six  weeks  each  of  fall  and  spring  work  from  apprentices, 

‘  ‘  in  order  to  teach  both  kinds  of  work.  ’  ’  In  Boston  the  appren¬ 
tices  visited  had  not  been  in  the  trade  a  year,  and  the  length  of 
employment  varied  from  1  to  5  months.1  According  to  the  pay 
rolls,  5  apprentices  in  Boston  department  stores  were  employed 
from  4J  to  12  months.2 

The  largest  number  of  makers  worked  less  than  10  months  dur¬ 
ing  the  year  both  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  according  to 
Tables  11  to  14.  As  an  average  in  Boston  about  a  fourth  were 
employed  less  than  6  months,  a  third  between  6  and  8  months, 
and  a  fourth  between  8  and  10  months.  In  detail  about  24  per 
cent.  (19)  of  the  total  number  (78)  of  makers  who  reported  on 
this  question  and  50  per  cent.  (48)  of  the  96  makers  for  whom 
complete  pay  rolls  were  obtained  were  employed  for  less  than  6 
months  during  the  year.  Over  30  per  cent.  (24)  of  the  makers 
visited  and  about  24  per  cent.  (23)  of  the  makers  for  whom 

1  The  8  Boston  apprentices  visited  reported  the  following  number  of 
months’  employment;  2,  1  month;  1,  1%  months;  3,  3  months  and  1,  5 
months.  One  apprentice  did  not  report. 

2  One  worked  18  weeks;  1,  26  weeks;  1,  37  weeks;  1,  39  weeks  and  1,  52 
weeks. 


TABLE  11,  SHOWING  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  IN  A  YEAR  OF  103  BOSTON  WORKERS,1  CLASSIFIED  BY 
OCCUPATION  AND  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS. 


54 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


i  Twenty  makers  and  8  trimmers  did  not  report.  One  maker,  in  the  group  6  months  and  less  than  8,  did  not  re¬ 
port  as  to  place  of  employment. 


TABLE  12,  SHOWING  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  IN  THE  YEAR  1912  FOR  100  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS,  CLASSI¬ 
FIED  BY  OCCUPATION  AND  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


SEASONS 


55 


1  Number  of  workers  for  whom  no  data  were  secured: — apprentices,  3;  makers,  6;  trimmers,  6. 

Apprentices  were  employed  as  follows:  1  less  than  6  months;  3,  6  months  and  less  than  8;  1,  8  months  and  less 
than  10;  1,  10  months  and  less  than  12. 


56 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  13,  SHOWING-  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  BY  WEEKS  IN  THE  YEAR  1912  OF 
140  BOSTON  WORKERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION  AND  BY  TYPE  OF 
ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  COMPLETE  PAY  ROLLS.1 


Number  of  Workers  Employed  Specified  Number  of  Weeks 


Weeks  of 
Employ¬ 
ment 

AS  TRIMMERS 

AS  MAKERS 

AS  APPRENTICES 

Grand 

Total 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Par¬ 

lors 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Houses 

To¬ 

tal 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Par¬ 

lors 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Houses 

To¬ 

tal 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Par¬ 

lors 

To¬ 

tal 

4  weeks . . 

_ 

- 

. 

_ 

-  - 

1 

1 

_ 

— 

1 

5  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

3 

— 

— 

3 

6  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

1 

7  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

1 

10  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 1  weeks .  . 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

12  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

14  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

2 

— 

— 

2 

15  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

17  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

18  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 

1 

2 

3 

19  wTeeks.  . 

— 

— 

2 

2 

2 

— 

1 

3 

— 

— 

5 

20  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

6 

— 

— 

6 

— 

— 

6 

21  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

3 

— 

— 

3 

— 

— 

3 

22  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

3 

2 

— 

5 

— 

— 

5 

23  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

6 

1 

— 

7 

— 

— 

7 

24  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

4 

1 

— 

5 

— 

— 

5 

25  weeks . . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

2 

— 

1 

3 

— 

— 

4 

26  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

1 

3 

1 

— 

1 

4 

27  weeks. . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

3 

28  weeks. . 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

29  weeks.  . 

1 

— 

1 

2 

5 

— 

— 

5 

— 

— 

7 

30  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

5 

— 

— 

5 

— 

— 

5 

3 1  Aveeks . . 

— 

— 

1 

1 

2 

1 

— 

3 

— 

1 

1 

5 

32  weeks. . 

1 

— 

1 

2 

1 

— 

2 

3 

— 

— 

5 

33  weeks . . 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

2 

34  weeks . . 

— 

— 

1 

1 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

2 

35  weeks . . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

36  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

37  weeks. . 

2 

— 

'  | 

2 

3 

— 

2 

5 

1 

— 

1 

8 

38  weeks . . 

2 

— 

2 

2 

1 

— 

3 

— 

— 

5 

39  weeks. . 

1 

1 

— 

2 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

1 

4 

40  weeks. . 

2 

— 

1 

3 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— - 

5 

41  weeks.. 

1 

— 

1 

2 

1 

1 

— 

2 

— 

— 

4 

42  Aveeks. . 

1  2 

— 

— 

2 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

3 

43  weeks . . 

2 

— 

1 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

44  weeks . . 

2 

1 

— 

3 

3 

1 

— 

4 

— 

— 

7 

45  weeks . . 

1  2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

. — 

— 

— 

2 

46  weeks . . 

i 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

48  Aveeks . . 

1 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

49  weeks . . 

,  1 

— 

1 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

51  weeks. . 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

2 

52  weeks. . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

>  1 

1  • 

t 

— 

1 

2 

Total. . 

21 

4 

12 

37 

70 

11 

15 

96 

5 

2 

7 

140 

i  This  table  includes  all  workers  employed  both  seasons  regardless  of  length  of  em¬ 
ployment  each  season. 


SEASONS 


57 


TABLE  14,  SHOWING  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  BY  MONTHS  IN  THE  YEAR  1912 
FOR  133  BOSTON  WORKERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION1  AND  BY 
TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT,  BASED  ON  COMPLETE  PAY  ROLLS. 

DERIVED  FROM  TABLE  13. 


Number  of  Workers  Employed  Specified  Number  of  Months 


Number  of 
Months  of  Em¬ 
ployment  in 
the  Year 

AS  MAKERS 

AS 

TRIMMERS 

Whole- 

Depart- 

Total 

Whole- 

Depart- 

Total 

sale 

Houses 

ment 

Stores 

Parlors 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

sale 

Houses 

ment 

Stores 

Parlors 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

Less  than  6 
months 

10 

33 

5 

48 

50.0 

2 

1 

3 

8.1 

6  months  and 
less  than  8 

3 

18 

2 

23 

23.9 

5 

3 

1 

9 

24.3 

8  months  and 
less  than  10  . 

2 

14 

2 

18 

18.8 

2 

10 

1 

13 

35.1 

10  months  and 
less  than  12  . 

5 

1 

6 

6.3 

3 

8 

1 

12 

32.4 

12  months 

— 

— ■ 

1 

1 

1.0 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Total 

15 

70 

11 

96 

100.0 

12 

21 

4 

37 

100.0 

i  Seven  apprentices  are  omitted  from  this  table. 


TABLE  15,  SHOWING  EFFECT  OF  EXPERIENCE  ON  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  DURING 
THE  YEAR.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  104  BOSTON  WORKERS, 

CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION.1 


NUMBER  OF  MAKERS  EMPLOYED 


NUMBER  OF  TRIMMERS  EMPLOYED 


Length  of 
Experience 
in 

Millinery 

Less 

than 

6 

Months 

6 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

8 

8 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

10 

10 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

12 

Total 

Less 

than 

6 

Months 

6 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

8 

8 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

10 

10 

Months 

and 

Less 

than 

12 

12 

Months 

Total 

Less  than  1 
year  . 

4 

4 

1 

1  year  and 
less  than  2. 

7 

6 

3 

16 

_ 

1 

-- 

2  years  and 

less  than  3. 

2 

4 

2 

2 

10 

— • 

— 

— 

1 

— 

1 

3  years  and 
less  than  4 . 

i 

1 

1 

4 

5 

4 

14 

1 

1 

1 

4  years  and 
less  than  5. 

1 

1 

3 

5 

1 

_  , 

1 

5  years  and 
less  than  10 

3 

5 

5 

4 

17 

1 

2 

1 

4 

3 

10 

10  years  and 

more 

1 

3 

3 

2 

9 

1 

3 

1 

3 

2 

10 

No  report  . 

— 

2 

— 

2 

4 

1 

_  i 

— 

1 

— 

2 

Total 

19 

25 

21 

14 

79 

4 

3 

3 

10 

5 

25 

i  Apprentices  are  omitted  from  this  table,  and  20  makers  and  8  trimmers  did  not  report 
as  to  length  of  employment. 


58 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


complete  pay  rolls  were  obtained,  were  employed  from  6  to  8 
months.  A  smaller  percentage — 27  per  cent.  (21) — of  the  total 
number  of  makers  who  reported  on  seasons,  and  about  19  per 
cent.  (18)  of  the  makers  from  pay  rolls,  were  employed  from  8  to 
10  months  per  year.  Only  14  makers  interviewed  and  7  accord¬ 
ing  to  pay  roll  data  were  employed  at  least  10  months  per  year. 
One  department  store  employed  1  maker  for  51  weeks,  one 
parlor  employed  1  maker  for  52  weeks,  but  no  maker  visited 
claimed  to  have  worked  throughout  the  year. 

Over  25  per  cent,  of  the  Philadelphia  makers  reported  less 
than  8  months  of  employment  during  the  year,  while  only  2 
makers  reported  less  than  a  6  months’  season.  The  largest 
group,  43  per  cent.  (32)  of  the  total  number  answering,  re¬ 
ported  seasons  8  to  10  months  in  length.  Eighteen  makers  re¬ 
ported  seasons  lasting  from  10  to  12  months,  of  these,  9  were 
employed  in  the  wholesale  manufacturing  houses  which  have 
longer  seasons  than  other  types  of  establishments.  Five  makers 
employed  in  millinery  stores  reported  full  12  months  employ¬ 
ment. 

The  trimmers  in  both  cities  work  during  longer  seasons  than 
the  makers.  This  is  especially  true  of  establishments  in  which 
the  employer  could  do  no  trimming.  In  Boston  60  per  cent.  (15) 
of  the  25  trimmers  visited,  who  reported,  worked  from  10  to  12 
months.  Ten  of  these  were  employed  in  department  stores,  in 
wholesale  millinery  and  in  stores  and  parlors  employing  large 
forces.  Twenty  per  cent.  (5)  reported  full  time  employment — 
3  from  wholesale  establishments  and  1  each  from  stores  and  par¬ 
lors.  The  Boston  pay  rolls  tell  a  different  story,  however,  only 
32  per  cent,  being  employed  from  10  to  12  months  and  none  for 
full  time,  although  2  trimmers  from  department  stores  worked 
49  and  51  weeks  respectively.  In  Philadelphia  about  54  per 
cent.  (14)  of  the  26  trimmers  reporting  on  the  question  of  sea¬ 
sons  were  employed  for  periods  varying  in  length  from  10  months 
to  one  year.  Five  reported  full  time  employment,  2  from  whole¬ 
sale  houses,  1  from  a  department  store  and  2  from  millinery 
stores. 

It  is  difficult  to  generalize  as  to  the  length  of  seasons  for  work¬ 
ers  in  various  types  of  establishments.  The  majority  of  workers 
employed  in  the  Philadelphia  wholesale  manufacturing  establish- 


SEASONS 


59 


ments  work  from  10  to  12  months.  Makers  in  wholesale  houses 
and  department  stores  of  Boston  work  less  than  8  months,  in 
Philadelphia  from  8  to  10  months. 

A  study  of  the  length  of  the  seasons  as  given  in  Table  16  based 
on  Boston  pay  rolls  brings  out  several  points.  The  majority  of 
the  workers  were  employed  for  longer  periods  in  the  spring  than 
in  the  fall.  This  is  obvious  from  the  curves  in  Charts  I  and  II 
based  on  the  total  number  employed  in  the  shops.  The  spring 
season  for  the  majority  of  the  workers  varied  from  11  to  24 
weeks,  the  fall  season  from  7  to  18  weeks.  It  is  noticeable  that 
those  workers — both  makers  and  trimmers — who  were  employed 
both  seasons  in  the  same  establishment  worked  longer  than  those 
employed  but  one  season. 

It  is  also  difficult  to  draw  any  definite  conclusions  as  to  the 
relation  between  the  length  of  experience  in  the  trade  and  the 
length  of  employment  during  the  year.  Tables  15  and  17  are 
presented  to  show  the  exact  situation  so  far  as  discovered,  and 
because  they  may  prove  of  value  in  some  other  connection. 
Some  difference  may  be  noted  after  the  workers  have  had  5 
years  or  more  experience.  The  older  makers  do  not  have  the 
extremely  short  seasons.  The  trimmers  are  mostly  those  of  5 
years’  experience.  Only  5  of  the  19  Philadelphia  makers  and  12 
of  the  44  Boston  makers  employed  for  less  than  8  months  during 
the  year  had  been  in  the  trade  for  5  years  or  more.  On  the 
other  hand,  28  of  the  55  Philadelphia  makers  and  14  of  the  35 
Boston  makers  employed  for  8  months  or  more  during  the  year 
had  spent  5  years  or  more  in  millinery.  Only  2  Philadelphia 
trimmers  and  3  Boston  trimmers  had  been  less  than  5  years  in 
the  trade. 

Two  general  classes  of  problems  connected  with  the  busy  and 
dull  seasons  are  integral  parts  of  the  question  of  seasonal  em¬ 
ployments.  The  problems  of  the  busy  season  are  the  logical 
results  of  rush  work  and  involve:  (1)  taking  on  a  large  force 
of  workers  which  must  be  dismissed  as  soon  as  the  early  rush  is 
over;  (2)  nervous  strain  for  both  employer  and  employee  in¬ 
cident  to  the  speeding  up  process,  and  (3)  unavoidable  overtime 
which  accompanies  the  filling  of  rush  orders.  The  dull  season 
problem  is  that  of  unemployment.  The  employment  of  a  large 


60 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  16,  SHOWING  THE  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  BY  WEEKS  IN  THE  SPRING  AND  FALL 
SEASONS  OF  THE  YEAR  1912,  FOR  WORKERS  IN  5  BOSTON  RETAIL  ESTABLISH¬ 
MENTS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


i  * 

Number  of  Workers  Employed  Specified  Length  of  Time 


Number  of 

IN  THE  SPRING  SEASON  AS 

IN  THE  FALL  SEASON  AS 

Weeks  of 
Employment 

Makers 

Trimmers 

Makers 

Trimmers 

But 

Fall 

Season 

Also 

But 

Spring 

Season 

Only 

But 

Fall 

Season 

Also 

But 

Spring 

Season 

Only 

Total 

But 

Spring 

Season 

Also 

But 

Spring 

Season 

Only 

But 

Fall 

Season 

Also 

But 

Spring 

Season 

Only 

Total 

1  week  . 

--  .. 

9 

_ 

__ 

9 

1 

2 

/  _ _ 

- - 

3 

2  weeks  . 

— 

6 

— 

1 

7 

1 

1 

— 

— 

2 

3  weeks  . 

1 

2 

— 

1 

4 

1 

1 

— 

— 

2 

4  weeks  . 

• — 

1 

— 

1 

2 

1 

1 

i  — 

— 

2 

5  weeks  . 

1 

1 

— 

1 

3 

1 

1 

— 

— 

2 

6  weeks  . 

2 

2 

— 

— 

4 

— 

3 

*  1 

— 

4 

7  weeks  . 

1 

1 

— 

— 

2 

6 

2 

1 

— 

9 

8  weeks  . 

1 

2 

— 

— 

3 

7 

4 

— 

2 

13 

9  weeks  . 

2 

2 

— 

— 

4 

7 

— 

— 

— 

7 

10  weeks  . 

3 

2 

— 

— 

5 

4 

1 

1 

1 

7 

11  weeks  . 

7 

2 

— 

— 

9 

6 

4 

— 

— 

10 

12  weeks  . 

15 

1 

— 

1 

17 

6 

1 

1 

— 

8 

13  weeks  . 

4 

3 

— 

— 

7 

8 

3 

4 

— 

15 

14  weeks  . 

6 

2 

— 

— 

8 

7 

— 

3 

— 

10 

15  weeks  . 

3 

1 

— 

— 

4 

3 

— 

— 

1 

4 

16  weeks  . 

2 

2 

— 

1 

5 

1 

1 

1 

2 

5 

17  weeks  . 

2 

— 

— 

— 

2 

5 

— 

1 

1 

7 

18  weeks  . 

1 

— 

— 

— 

1 

5 

— 

1 

— 

6 

19  weeks  . 

2 

2 

4 

— 

8 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

20  weeks  . 

1 

— 

1 

— 

2 

1 

— 

3 

— 

4 

21  weeks  . 

5 

1 

1 

— 

7 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

22  weeks  . 

3 

1 

— 

— 

4 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

23  weeks  . 

3 

— 

2 

— 

5 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

24  weeks  . 

3 

2 

4 

— 

9 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

25  weeks  . 

— 

— 

1 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

26  weeks  . 

1 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

— 

1 

27  weeks  . 

2 

— 

2 

— 

4 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

28  weeks  . 

— 

1 

1 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

29  weeks  . 

— 

— 

1  i 

1  — 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

30  weeks  .  , 

1 

— 

—  1 

1 

2 

— 

— 

— 

—  1 

— 

Total  . 

72 

46 

17 

7 

142 

72 

25 

17 

7 

121 

i  Seventeen  workers  employed  both  seasons — 9  makers  and  8  trimmers — are  omitted  from 
this  table  because  of  difficulty  in  dividing  the  number  of  weeks  employed  between  the  two 
seasons. 


TABLE  17,  SHOWING  EFFECT  OF  EXPERIENCE  ON  LENGTH  OF  EMPLOYMENT  DURING  THE  YEAR.  BASED 

ON  REPORTS  FROM  100  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS 


SEASONS 


61 


a 

«+H 

o 

rSi 

-P 

bo 

C 

a> 


05 

aS 


a 

a> 

p 


O 

c 

•  r*H 

Ti 

03 

p 

o> 


CO 

O 

c: 


ployment. 


62 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


force  during  the  rush  season  seems  inevitable  in  a  fashion  trade, 
especially  in  shops  doing  ‘‘order  work.”  The  speeding  up  proc¬ 
ess  necessary  to  meet  orders  promptly,  even  if  it  is  not  pro¬ 
longed  by  a  period  of  overtime,  often  results  in  complete  ex¬ 
haustion  of  the  workers,  who  find  little  time  to  recuperate  until 
the  close  of  the  busy  season.  Consequently  both  workers  and 
employers  look  forward  to  the  dull  season  as  a  period  of  rest. 
By  overtime  is  meant  the  time  spent  by  employees  at  work  in 
excess  of  the  normal  hours  of  labor.  Overtime  may  be  de¬ 
manded  of  the  workers  either  by  prolonging  the  hours  of  work 
into  the  evening  or  by  curtailing  the  noon  period.  Information 
as  to  overtime  was  not  definitely  sought  in  Boston,  although  a 
few  workers  incidentally  reported  extra  hours.  Overtime  was 
probably  not  so  common  in  Boston  as  in  Philadelphia,  yet  it  was 
sufficiently  general  to  be  a  serious  problem.  Definite  data  on 
this  point  were  obtained  in  Philadelphia.  About  32  per  cent. 
(33)  of  the  104  establishments  visited  claimed  to  do  no  overtime, 
while  about  59  per  cent.  (61)  of  the  total  number  of  firms  visited 
reported  overtime  to  some  extent.  Overtime  in  many  of  these 
shops  does  not  mean  extra  work  for  all  the  employees.  Several 
workers  were  visited  from  the  same  workroom,  some  of  whom 
reported  overtime  while  others  did  not.  Thirty-three  per  cent. 
(40)  of  the  121  Philadelphia  employees  visited  reported  no 
overtime,  while  over  51  per  cent.  (62)  of  them  had  worked  over¬ 
time  during  the  year  in  which  the  investigation  was  made. 

Overtime  involves  not  only  such  legal  questions  as  the  viola¬ 
tion  of  provisions  regulating  the  total  daily  and  weekly  hours  of 
labor  of  women  and  children,  but  social  questions  as  well.  The 
evils  resulting  from  overtime  are  three  in  number,  fatigue,  un¬ 
certainty  and  night  work.  The  injury  to  the  worker’s  health 
caused  by  overtime  has  been  well  explained  and  interpreted  by 
Miss  Josephine  Goldmark.  After  an  ordinary  day’s  work  of  84 
to  9  hours,  a  period  of  rest  and  recuperation  is  necessary  if 
efficiency  is  to  be  maintained.  To  continue  work  after  fatigue 
sets  in  is  to  require  a  constantly  increasing  expenditure  of  nerv¬ 
ous  energy  out  of  proportion  to  the  results  obtained.  The  nor¬ 
mal  fatigue  is  greatly  increased  on  the  days  that  overtime  is  re¬ 
quired  by  the  necessity  of  accomplishing  in  a  given  time  a  larger 


SEASONS 


63 


amount  of  work  than  usual.  To  continue  this  nervous  over- 
stimulation  until  nine  or  ten  o’clock  in  the  evening  is  to  rob  the 
worker  of  much  needed  rest,  and  results  ultimately  in  deteriora¬ 
tion  both  in  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the  product.  In 
Philadelphia  33  employers  stated  that  they  did  not  require  over¬ 
time  because  it  did  not  pay.  The  61  employers  who  demanded 
overtime  defended  their  action  by  claiming  that  it  was  more  than 
compensated  by  the  shorter  days  given  employees  in  the  dull 
season,  when  they  were  permitted  to  begin  work  at  nine  or  ten 
o  ’clock  in  the  morning  and  to  leave  an  hour  or  two  earlier  in  the 
afternoon.  But  “the  essential  thing  in  rest  is  the  time  at  which 
it  comes.  Rest  postponed  is  rest  more-than-proportionally  de¬ 
prived  of  virtue.  Fatigue  let  run  is  a  debt  to  be  paid  at  com¬ 
pound  interest.  Maggiora  showed  that  after  a  doubled  task, 
muscle  requires  not  double  but  four  times  as  long  a  rest  for  re¬ 
cuperation,  and  a  similar  need  for  more-than-proportionally  in¬ 
creased  rest  after  excessive  work  is  true  of  our  other  tissues,  and 
of  our  organism  in  its  totality.  ’  ’ 1 

The  irregularity  of  overtime  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  when 
it  will  be  required  serve  further  to  complicate  the  problem.  Un¬ 
certainty  is  especially  characteristic  of  shops  doing  ‘  ‘  order 
work,”  and  to  a  lesser  degree  of  shops  doing  both  “stock”  and 
“order  work.”  Two  facts  are  fairly  certain,  (1)  that  overtime 
will  be  required  the  few  weeks  preceding  Easter  Sunday,  and 
(2)  that  it  will  be  demanded  toward  the  end  of  the  week  when 
the  workers  are  already  fatigued. 

Overtime  usually  means  night  work.  The  majority  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  employees  reporting  on  this  point  stated  that  they  re¬ 
turned  home  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  eleven  o’clock. 
Night  work  not  only  results  in  fatigue  and  injury  to  health,  and 
in  a  lowered  industrial  output  the  succeeding  day,  but  also  ex¬ 
poses  women  and  girls  to  the  dangers  of  returning  home  late  at 
night  alone  and  unprotected. 

In  the  last  analysis,  the  blame  for  the  practice  of  overtime 
may  be  laid  squarely  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  customers.  The 
thoughtlessness  of  customers  and  their  habits  of  procrastination 
are  the  chief  causes  for  irregular  overtime.  If  the  employer 

i  Goldmark,  Josephine,  Fatigue  and  Efficiency.  (New  York,  1912.) 
Part  1,  p.  88. 


64 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


wishes  to  retain  the  trade  of  her  best  customer,  and  incidentally 
that  of  her  best  customer ’s  family  and  friends,  she  is  almost  com¬ 
pelled  to  work  overtime  when  given  an  order  for  a  hat  which 
must  be  completed  at  short  notice.  A  little  thought  and  con¬ 
sideration  would  minimize  the  rush  for  Easter  hats  which  begins 
two  or  three  weeks  before  Easter,  although  the  spring  models 
are  on  display  at  least  two  months  earlier. 

Various  means  have  been  suggested  for  abolishing  overtime: 
(1)  the  better  organization  of  the  working  force  and  of  the 
business  in  general;  (2)  a  campaign  of  education  among  custom¬ 
ers  to  persuade  them  to  be  more  considerate  in  their  orders, 
and  (3)  legal  prohibition.  The  difficulty  of  manufacturing 
hats  in  anticipation  of  orders  because  of  the  demands  for  the 
latest  style  made  by  the  fashion-following  customers  hinders 
the  first  plan.  Short  seasons  and  the  fear  of  losing  customers 
force  the  acceptance  of  every  order,  even  though  it  entails  over¬ 
time  upon  both  employer  and  employees.  The  first  suggestion, 
therefore,  will  not  be  very  effective  until  some  progress  has  been 
made  in  line  with  the  second,  namely,  in  educating  customers  to 
be  more  considerate.  For  this  reason,  a  consistent  policy  of  edu¬ 
cation,  bringing  home  forcibly  to  customers  the  effects  of  their 
whims  and  caprices,  would  prove  most  helpful  in  minimizing  the 
amount  of  overtime  demanded  of  millinery  workers.  The  legal 
prohibition  of  overtime  would  be  the  most  effective  method  of 
abolishing  it,  although  such  a  law  would  present  serious  admin¬ 
istrative  difficulties.  Even  if  it  were  not  rigidly  enforced,  its 
existence  upon  the  statute  books  would  impress  upon  employers 
the  necessity  of  gauging  more  accurately  the  working  capacity 
of  their  ecpiipment  and  perhaps  of  reorganizing  the  industry. 

The  majority  of  millinery  workers  express  the  keenest  dissatis¬ 
faction  with  the  seasons,  necessitating,  as  they  do,  from  two  to 
six  months  unemployment  during  the  year.  Irregularity  of 
work  demoralizes  the  workers  and  causes  loss  of  efficiency.  To 
many  employees  the  prospect  of  the  dull  season  is  depressing 
and  disheartening.  It  is  difficult  to  save  for  months  of  idleness 
on  a  wage  of  $8  or  less  per  week.  “Among  those  living  under 
great  economic  pressure  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  standard 
of  life  to  expand  as  far  as  possible  within  its  narrow  confines, 


SEASONS 


65 


like  a  gas  under  high  pressure.  The  worker  spends  the  greater 
part  of  whatever  wages  he  gets.  This  holds  true  even  when 
the  wage  becomes  quite  high.  Irregularity  of  income  appar¬ 
ently  encourages  improvidence.  Systematic  arrangement  of  a 
family  budget  is  possible  only  on  the  basis  of  a  definite  and  regu¬ 
lar  income.  In  fact,  the  actual  money  value  of  the  wage  de¬ 
creases  with  its  irregularity.  ’  ’ 1  This  is  true  of  millinery  work¬ 
ers,  and  especially  of  those  who  are  dependent  upon  their  earn¬ 
ings  for  a  livelihood,  and  is  doubtless  the  chief  reason  some  are 
driven  to  seek  illegitimate  resources  for  support.  Irregularity 
of  employment  is  probably  a  more  potent  cause  of  prostitution 
than  low  wages,  but  the  two  make  a  formidable  combination. 
Besides  demoralization  of  the  worker,  unemployment  results 
also  in  loss  of  efficiency.  Many  workers  realize  that  however 
badly  they  may  need  rest,  they  pay  for  the  long  dull  season 
rest  in  loss  of  skill.  For  millinery  is  a  trade  in  which  the  worker 
— especially  the  maker — must  “ always  keep  her  hand  in.” 

The  solution  of  the  seasonal  problem  usually  attempted  is  the 
dovetailing  of  millinery  with  some  other  business  or  trade — the 
employer  combining  it  with  other  businesses,  the  employee  with 
other  occupations.  A  few  shops  carry  on  dressmaking  and 
millinery.  Though  the  off  season  in  dressmaking  is  not  so  dull 
as  in  millinery,  the  two  tend  to  coincide.  Therefore,  a  separate 
force  must  be  engaged  to  handle  each  kind  of  work.  The  com¬ 
bination  of  millinery  with  neckwear  and  novelties  has  been  at¬ 
tempted  since  materials  left  over  from  millinery  may  be  utilized, 
but  two  of  the  larger  firms  that  have  tried  the  plan  have  not 
found  it  effective.  One  employer  taught  millinery  to  two  or 
three  private  pupils  during  the  dull  seasons,  charging  $25 
apiece.  Obviously,  this  supplemented  the  employer’s  income 
but  not  that  of  her  force.  One  shop  employed  its  force  during 
the  winter  dull  season  in  making  spring  hats,  resulting  in  the 
accumulation  of  such  a  surplus  that  the  firm  was  forced  to  dis¬ 
miss  the  girls  in  the  early  part  of  May  in  order  to  clear  out  the 
stock.  Another  proprietor  tried  the  plan  of  making  frames  and 
ornaments  between  seasons,  but  the  fashion  changed  and  the 
stock  was  of  no  value.  The  department  stores  and  the  millinery 
i  Seasonal  Trades ,  edited  by  Sidney  Webb,  and  others,  p.  50. 


66 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


stores  often  prolong  the  season  and  reduce  stock  by  means  of 
bargain  sales.  The  plan  employed  by  dressmakers  and  tailors  of 
offering  an  inducement  to  early  shopping  in  the  form  of  a  reduc¬ 
tion  in  the  price  of  all  orders  to  be  filled  in  the  dull  season  has 
been  suggested  as  one  remedy.  The  tailor  uses  this  system  pri¬ 
marily  for  the  benefit  of  his  workers,  and  in  order  to  do  so,  cuts 
heavily  into  his  own  profits. 

Employees  attempt  to  solve  the  problems  of  seasonal  unemploy¬ 
ment  by  combining  millinery  with  some  other  occupation.  This 
question  is  greatly  complicated  by  the  two  dull  seasons.  If  milli¬ 
nery  is  a  worker’s  regular  trade,  she  must  necessarily  be  an  ir¬ 
regular  hand  in  one  or  perhaps  two  other  occupations.  Many 
find  it  difficult  or  are  unwilling  to  devote  the  time  and  energy 
necessary  to  mastering  another  trade  or  two,  and  the  secondary 
occupation  must  often  be  unskilled  or  of  a  lower  grade.  Con¬ 
sciously  or  unconsciously,  most  workers  feel  that  to  become  un¬ 
skilled  laborers,  even  for  a  short  time,  lowers  their  standards  of 
efficiency  and  payment.  This  attitude  is  not  confined  to  milli¬ 
ners.  “Not  only  does  less  skilled  work  injure  the  finesse  re¬ 
quired  in  the  highly  skilled  workman,  but  there  is  also  a  strong 
prejudice  against  such  a  descent.  One  foreman  says  that  a 
mechanic  who  is  out  of  work  would  not  go  to  the  gasworks  in 
the  winter;  he  believes  he  would  rather  starve.  It  is  generally 
found  out,  and  would  be  against  him  on  the  next  job.  .  .  . 
These  limitations  which  surround  the  skilled  workman  are  of 
great  importance,  for  few  occupations  are  entirely  unskilled,  and 
there  are  thus  few  alternatives  for  the  man  of  any  degree  of 
specialization.  ’  ’ 1 

Statistics  of  the  supplementary  occupations  show  that  the 
majority  of  those  seeking  dull  season  employment  entered  less 
skilled  trades.  Fifty-three  employees  in  Boston,  about  37  per 
cent,  of  the  number  interviewed,  and  29  in  Philadelphia,  about 
24  per  cent,  of  the  number  interviewed,  reported  dull  season  oc¬ 
cupations  for  the  preceding  year.  The  chief  secondary  occupa¬ 
tion  reported  was  that  of  salesgirl,  26  employees  in  Boston  and 
17  in  Philadelphia  following  this  trade.  Most  of  the  workers 
were  employed  during  the  rush  season  just  before  Christmas. 

i  Seasonal  Trades,  edited  by  Sidney  Webb  and  others,  pp.  48-49. 


SEASONS 


67 


A  few  were  employed  in  other  stores,  some  as  millinery  sales¬ 
girls  during  the  evening.  “Selling’’  as  a  secondary  occupation 
for  very  many  workers,  affords  work  for  the  winter  season  only. 
Moreover,  the  holiday  rush  coming  so  soon  after  the  busy  season 
in  millinery,  is  especially  trying  for  the  worker. 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  workers  entered  trades  allied  to 
millinery.  Two  retail  employees  in  Boston,  and  1  in  Philadel¬ 
phia  reported  wholesale  millinery  work  during  the  dull  season. 
New  York  milliners  claim  that  wholesale  houses  offer  excellent 
dull  season  opportunities,  but  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  the 
wholesale  business  is  not  large  enough  to  afford  the  employment 
to  be  found  in  New  York.  Only  the  cheaper  hats  are  made,  and 
many  retail  workers  are  of  the  opinion  they  lose  more  in  trade 
efficiency  than  they  gain  in  wages,  since  the  work  required  is  of 
a  low  grade  and  the  “fashion  hints”  of  little  value  in  high- 
class  retail  shops.  Three  workers  from  each  city  reported  that 
they  were  engaged  in  dressmaking  during  the  dull  season.  As 
millinery  and  dressmaking  are  both  sewing  trades  this  would 
seem  a  logical  solution.  But  two  facts  militate  against  this  com¬ 
bination — the  dull  seasons  tend  to  coincide  and  the  work  re¬ 
quired  is  essentially  different  in  character.  In  Boston  two 
workers  reported  teaching  millinery  as  an  occupation,  one  in  a 
summer  school,  the  other  in  an  evening  school.  Other  occupa¬ 
tions  reported  by  Boston  workers  included:  printing  1,  machine 
operating  2,  waiting  on  table  2,  office  work  1,  photography  3, 
telephone  operating  1,  factory  work  (candy,  soap)  5,  bookbind¬ 
ing  2,  cash  girls  2,  errand  girl  1,  pasting  samples  1.  Philadel¬ 
phia  workers  reported  the  following  secondary  employment:  in¬ 
specting  in  a  department  store  1,  paper  box  factory  1,  address¬ 
ing  envelopes  1,  and  embroidery  1. 

Straw  machine  operating  has  been  suggested  as  a  secondary 
trade,  and  one  school  is  offering  instruction  in  it  to  its  millinery 
pupils.  This  plan  seems  of  dubious  value.  One  requirement 
of  a  secondary  occupation  is  that  it  be  conveniently  situated, 
another,  that  it  offer  employment.  Although  there  are  in  Bos¬ 
ton  a  few  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  straw  hats,  they 
are  not  sufficiently  important  to  be  listed  among  the  industries 
of  that  city  in  the  Federal  Census  of  Manufactures  of  1905. 


68 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


Seven  establishments  employing  an  average  of  267  workers  were 
listed  for  Philadelphia.1  Obviously  the  demand  for  workers  is 
not  great.  The  owner  of  a  large  straw  hat  factory  situated  out¬ 
side  of  Boston  did  not  consider  the  plan  of  combining  the  two 
trades  feasible.  The  objections  are  two-fold — (1)  straw  machine 
operating  is  a  skilled  trade  in  which  skill  can  be  acquired  only 
through  practice,  and  (2)  the  seasons  of  the  two  trades  do  not 
permit  a  satisfactory  combination.  The  straw  hat  season  begins 
in  November,  and  lasts  well  into  or  through  the  millinery  spring 
season.  Consequently  the  employer  would  consider  the  milli¬ 
nery  worker  undesirable  who  could  not  be  relied  upon  for  the 
whole  season.  It  might  be  more  logical  to  combine  millinery  as 
a  secondary  trade  with  straw  machine  operating.  Furthermore 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  millinery  employees  would  take  kindly 
to  the  scheme.  To  those  workers  willing  to  accept  social  prestige 
in  part  payment  for  wages,  factory  work  would  be  distasteful. 

The  peculiarities  exhibited  by  the  seasons’  curve  are  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  market  of  the  trade  is  local,  and  can  re¬ 
spond  readily  to  sudden  demands  made  upon  it.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  meet  these  demands  if  there  were  not  a  large  body 
of  millinery  workers  in  reserve,  in  other  words,  if  there  were  not 
a  chronic  over-supply  of  labor.  This  leads  to  the  conclusion  that 
perhaps  this  over-supply  exerts  as  much  influence  upon  the  ir¬ 
regularity  of  employment  in  millinery  as  do  climatic  conditions 
and  the  fashions.  The  scheme  of  dovetailing  several  trades  is 
a  weak  and  unsatisfactory  method  of  solving  the  problems  of 
unemployment ;  it  is  the  method  of  following  the  line  of  least 
resistance,  and  not  that  of  attacking  the  root  difficulties,  the 
fashions  and  the  over-supply  of  labor.  Much  good  would  result 
from  an  organization  of  employers  who  would  work  together  to 
solve  the  seasonal  problems  and  to  modify  the  vagaries  of 
fashion;  much  good  would  also  result  from  the  organization  of 
employees  who  would  unite  to  secure  protection  for  themselves 
and  to  raise  their  own  industrial  standards.  Much  good,  too, 
would  result  from  a  campaign  of  education  among  consumers  to 
bring  about  a  modification  of  their  present  inconsiderate  de¬ 
mands.  As  the  trade  now  exists,  it  is  an  excellent  example  of 
an  absolutely  unorganized,  unregulated  trade. 

i  Census  of  Manufactures,  1905,  pt.  11,  p.  980. 


CHAPTER  V 


WAGES 

Either  from  ignorance  or  from  optimism  the  average  girl  who 
enters  the  millinery  trade  fails  to  appreciate  the  effect  of  seasons 
on  wages  and  only  after  actual  experience  does  she  realize  that 
months  of  unemployment  make  serious  inroads  upon  the  yearly 
earnings.  Wages  received  by  millinery  workers  must  be  con¬ 
sidered  in  relation  to  the  equally  important  question  of  seasonal 
unemployment. 

Time  wages  is  the  prevailing  method  of  payment.  Retail 
establishments,  wholesale  manufacturing  millinery  firms  of 
Philadelphia,  and  many  of  the  wholesale  firms  of  both  cities  al¬ 
ways  pay  time  wages  to  their  employees.  A  few  of  the  whole¬ 
sale  firms  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  pay  piece  rates  to  makers 
but  rarely  to  trimmers  or  apprentices.  These  firms  often  com¬ 
bine  both  systems,  giving  time  wages  to  the  makers  employed 
throughout  the  year,  and  piece  rate  wages  to  those  employed 
only  in  the  busy  season.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  one  worker  to 
receive  time  wages  when  the  season  opens  and  piece  wages  as 
the  amount  of  work  begins  to  increase. 

Some  workers  prefer  piece  wages  to  time  wages.  They  feel 
that  they  are  “getting  what  they  earn” — that  the  amount  of 
their  wages  is  determined  chiefly  by  their  own  skill.  Piecework¬ 
ers  sometimes  attempt  to  increase  wages  by  speeding  up  and  by 
shortening  the  noon  period.  Many  workers  prefer  time  wages, 
stating  that  they  earn  as  much  or  more  than  pieceworkers,  with¬ 
out  experiencing  the  disadvantages  of  that  system. 

Certain  terms  must  be  defined  before  analyzing  the  wages 
received  by  millinery  workers.  By  “nominal  weekly  wage”  is 
meant  the  time  wage  received  by  a  worker  as  specified  in  her 
agreement  with  the  employer.  The  term  is  applicable  to  the 
wages  reported  by  employees  and  to  those  of  the  Boston  pay  rolls. 


70 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


A  nominal  weekly  wage  is  given  for  every  worker  regardless  of 
length  of  employment,  and  is  some  indication  of  earning  capac¬ 
ity.  The  “average  weekly  wage”  shows  the  variation  in  wages 
due  to  absence  from  the  trade,  not  because  of  general  trade  con¬ 
ditions,  but  because  of  the  illness  of  the  employee,  or  other  per¬ 
sonal  reasons.  It  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  amount  re¬ 
ceived  by  the  number  of  weeks  of  employment.  Only  workers 
who  have  been  employed  4  weeks  or  more  in  one  season  are  in¬ 
cluded  in  such  a  table.  Since  workers  find  difficulty  in  remem¬ 
bering  the  deductions  made  from  their  wages  because  of  absence 
from  work,  this  term  is  employed  only  in  connection  with  data 
obtained  from  pay  rolls.  This  is  true  also  of  the  “average  weekly 
wage  throughout  the  year”  which  shows  the  effect  of  the  seasons 
upon  wages.  It  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  amount  re¬ 
ceived  by  52.  Only  workers  are  included  who,  according  to  the 
pay  rolls,  were  employed  4  weeks  or  more  during  each  of  the  two 
seasons.  Data  as  to  wages  were  obtained  from  the  employees 
themselves  and  from  the  workroom  pay  rolls  of  9  Boston  firms. 
The  pay  roll  information  in  general  verifies  that  obtained  from 
the  workers. 

The  wages  of  apprentices  reporting  in  Boston  and  Philadel¬ 
phia  are  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  apprenticeship  and  will  be 
considered  here  but  briefly.  The  wage  question  is  of  minor  im¬ 
portance  to  apprentices  as  they  hardly  expect  to  be  self-sup¬ 
porting  while  learning  their  trade.  Pay  rolls  were  obtained  for 
35  apprentices  and  the  wages  are  presented  in  Table  18.  Sixty 
per  cent.  (21)  of  this  number  were  employed  in  department 
stores  at  nominal  wages  varying  from  $1  to  $6  per  week.  Nine¬ 
teen  of  the  21  were  employed  in  one  department  store,  most 
of  them  only  for  a  week  or  two.  All  but  2  of  the  apprentices 
in  wholesale  houses  were  employed  by  one  firm.  Fifty-one  per 
cent.  (18)  of  the  total  number  received  $2  or  less  per  week, 
and  80  per  cent.  (28)  received  $3  or  less  per  week.  These 
wages  are  higher  than  those  reported  by  the  workers  themselves, 
but  the  pay  rolls  are  from  the  two  types  of  establishments  that 
would  be  least  likely  to  require  apprentices  to  “give”  their 
time.  Furthermore,  learners  receiving  no  wage  would  probably 
not  be  on  the  pay  roll. 


WAGES 


71 


The  problem  of  the  wages  paid  to  makers  is  more  important 
than  that  of  any  other  group  since  they  constitute  about  three- 
fourths  of  the  total  number  of  workers  in  the  trade.  The  ap¬ 
prentices  at  one  end  of  the  scale  receive  instruction  in  part  pay¬ 
ment  for  services  and  are  not  self-supporting.  The  trimmers  at 
the  other  end  receive  high  wages,  and  are  entirely  self-support¬ 
ing.  According  to  the  Boston  pay  rolls,  the  total  annual  earn¬ 
ings  of  Boston  makers  (See  Table  19)  ranged  from  less  than 
$50  to  less  than  $475  per  year.  The  median  total  annual  earn¬ 
ings  was  $210.52.  As  shown  in  Table  20,  about  9  per  cent, 
earned  less  than  $100,  and  only  10  per  cent.  $400  or  more  per 
year.  One-half  of  the  91  makers  earned  less  than  $200,  but 
the  largest  percentage  (63.7)  earned  between  $100  and  $300 
per  year. 

TABLE  18,  SHOWING  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES  RECEIVED  BY  35 
BOSTON  APPRENTICES,  CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO  TYPE 
OF  ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  FAY  ROLLS. 


Number  of  Workers  Receiving 
Specified  Wage 


Nominal  Weekly  Wage 

Department 

Stores 

Stores  and 
Parlors 

Wholesale 

Houses 

Total 

$1.00  and  less  than  $1.50  . 

6 

1 

7 

$1.50  and  less  than  $2.00  . 

— 

— 

4 

4 

$2.00  and  less  than  $2.50  . 

7 

— 

— 

7 

$2.50  and  less  than  $3.00  . 

— 

— 

2 

2 

$3.00  and  less  than  $3.50  . 

5 

1 

2 

8 

$3.50  and  less  than  $4.00  . 

1 

— 

3 

4 

$4.00  and  less  than  $5.00  . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

$6.00  and  less  than  $7.00  . 

2 

— 

— 

i  2. 

Total  . 

21 

2 

12 

35 

From  a  recent  investigation  $9  was  estimated  to  be  the  mini¬ 
mum  weekly  wage  necessary  to  insure  a  decent  standard  of 
living  for  women  in  Boston.1  If  this  be  taken  as  a  standard, 
a  study  even  of  the  nominal  weekly  wages  paid  to  makers  in 
the  millinery  trade  reveals  some  significant  facts. 

Table  21  shows  that  the  wages  reported  by  Boston  makers 
varied  from  less  than  $4  to  $15  per  week,  while  those  reported 
by  Philadelphia  makers  varied  from  less  than  $3  to  less  than 

i  Bosworth,  L.  M.,  The  Living  Wage  of  Women  Workers,  p.  11. 


72  MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  19,  SHOWING  TOTAL  ANNUAL  EARNINGS  OF  120  BOSTON  WORKERS, 
CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION  AND  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT.1 
BASED  ON  COMPLETE  PAY  ROLLS. 


Number  of  Workers  Receiving  Specified  Total  Annual 

Earnings 


Total  Annual  Earnings 

AS  MAKERS 

AS  TRIMMERS 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Parlors 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Houses 

Total 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Parlors 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Houses 

Total 

Less  than  $50  .... 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$50  and  less  than  $75  . 

2 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

“ 

/  1 

$75  and  less  than  $100  . 

5 

— 

— 

5 

— 

— 

~ 

' 

$100  and  less  than  $125 

9 

1 

— 

10 

— 

— 

— 

' 

$125  and  less  than  $150 

5 

— 

2 

7 

— 

— 

■  “ 

1 

$150  and  less  than  $175 

7 

4 

2 

13 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$175  and  less  than  $200 

6 

2 

— 

8 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$200  and  less  than  $225 

6 

— 

2 

8 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$225  and  less  than  $250 

3 

— 

2 

5 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$250  and  less  than  $275 

1 

— 

2 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$275  and  less  than  $300 

3 

— 

1 

4 

— 

— 

1 

1 

$300  and  less  than  $325 

1 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$325  and  less  than  $350 

5 

— 

1  _ 

i 

5 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$350  and  less  than  $375 

2 

1 

j  — 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$375  and  less  than  $400 

6 

1 

i  _ 

7 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$400  and  less  than  $425 

2 

2 

4 

— 

1 

— 

1 

$425  and  less  than  $450 

2 

— 

i  i 

3 

1 

i  — 

— 

1 

$450  and  less  than  $475 

1 

— 

l 

2 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$475  and  less  than  $500 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

2 

— 

3 

$550  and  less  than  $575 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

1 

3 

$575  and  less  than  $600 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

1 

3 

$625  and  less  than  $650  i 

— 

— 

— 

— 

4 

— 

1 

5 

$650  and  less  than  $675 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$675  and  less  than  $700 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

$725  and  less  than  $750 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

2 

$775  and  less  than  $800 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$800  and  less  than  $825 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

2 

$900  and  less  than  $925 

— 

— 

—  i 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$1300  and  less  than  $1325 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

Total  Number  Workers  . 

67 

11 

13 

91 

21 

4 

4 

29 

1  No  worker  is  included  in  this  table  who  was  employed  less  than  4  weeks  each 
season. 


TABLE  20,  SHOWING  TOTAL  ANNUAL  EARNINGS  OF  91  BOSTON 
MAKERS.  BASED  ON  COMPLETE  PAY  ROLLS. 


Annual  Income 

, 

MAKERS  RECEIVING 

SPECIFIED  AMOUNTS 

Number  ± 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $100 . 

8 

8.8 

$100  and  less  than  $200  . 

38 

41.8 

$200  and  less  than  $300  . 

20 

21.9 

$300  and  less  than  $400  . 

16 

17.6 

$400  and  less  than  $475  . 

9 

9.9 

Total . 

91 

100.0 

WAGES 


73 


$13  per  week.  Sixty-eight  per  cent.  (51)  of  the  total  num¬ 
ber  (75)  of  Boston  makers  reporting,  and  75  per  cent.  (157)  of 
the  Boston  makers  for  whom  pay  rolls  were  secured  received 
nominal  weekly  wages  of  less  than  $9.  The  percentage  of  those 
earning  less  than  $9  is  even  greater  in  Philadelphia,  79  per  cent, 
or  47  of  the  59  makers  who  reported.  Over  one-half  of  the 
makers  received  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than  $8  per  week — 54 
per  cent.  (41)  of  the  Boston  makers  interviewed,  58  per  cent. 
(121)  of  the  Boston  makers  on  the  pay  rolls  and  62  per  cent. 
(37)  of  the  Philadelphia  makers  reporting.  The  percentage  of 
makers  receiving  $10  or  more  per  week  is  small — 28  per  cent, 
of  the  Boston  makers  interviewed,  15  per  cent,  of  the  Boston 
makers  for  whom  pay  rolls  were  obtained  and  about  12  per 
cent,  of  the  Philadelphia  makers  visited. 

Nominal  wages  of  makers  vary  according  to  type  of  establish¬ 
ment  as  shown  by  Tables  22  and  23.  In  general,  makers  in  de¬ 
partment  stores  receive  the  highest  wages,  those  in  millinery 
stores  rank  second,  in  the  millinery  parlors  third,  while  those 
employed  in  wholesale  houses  receive  the  lowest  wages.  Of  the 

TABLE  21,  SHOWING  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  BOSTON  AND 
PHILADELPHIA  MAKERS.1  CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT.  BASED 
ON  PAY  ROLLS  AND  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS. 


Makers  Receiving  Specified  Wage  According  to 

Reports  From 


Nominal  Weekly  Wage 

BOSTON 

WORKERS 

BOSTON 

PAY  ROLLS 

PHILADELPHIA 

WORKERS 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

PerCent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $3.00 

___ 

-  -  -  - 

----- 

- 

4 

6.8 

Less  than  $4.00 

13 

4.0 

12 

5.8 

8 

13.6 

Less  than  $5.00 

18 

14.7 

19 

9.1 

14 

23.7 

Less  than  $6.00 

25 

33.3 

43 

20.7 

17 

28.8 

Less  than  $7.00 

35 

46.7 

89 

42.8 

25 

42.4 

Less  than  $8.00 

41 

54.7 

121 

58.2 

37 

62.7 

Less  than  $9.00 

•  i 

51 

68.0 

157 

75.5 

47 

79.7 

Less  than  $10.00 

.  | 

54 

72.0 

176 

84.6 

52 

88.1 

Less  than  $11.00 

65 

86.7 

190 

91.3 

56 

94.9 

Less  than  $12.00 

— 

— 

195 

93.8 

58 

98.3 

Less  than  $13.00 

73 

97.3 

208 

100.0 

59 

100.0 

$15.00  and  less 

75 

100.0 

— 

— 

— 

— 

i  Seven  Boston  and  6  Philadelphia  makers  did  not  report.  Seventeen 
Boston  and  15  Philadelphia  wholesale  pieceworkers  are  omitted. 


TABLE  22,  SHOWING  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  BOSTON  MAKERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISH- 


74 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


1  Seven  makers  did  not  report  and  17  wholesale  makers  are  omitted. 


WAGES 


75 


makers  reporting  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than  $7  per  week 
in  Boston,  the  largest  proportion  (17  of  the  27  reporting)  was 
found  among  those  employed  in  parlors,  the  next  largest  (12  of 
the  22  reporting)  among  millinery  store  makers  and  the  small¬ 
est  (4  of  the  24  reporting)  among  those  working  in  department 

TABLE  23,  SHOWING  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  PHILADELPHIA 
MAKERS  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED 
ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  or  Makers  Receiving  Specified  Wage 


Nominal  Weekly  Wage 

Manu- 

Whole- 

Depart- 

Milli- 

Total 

facturing 

Firms 

sale 

Firms 

ment 

Stores 

nery 

Stores 

Number 

Per 

Cent. 

$2.00  and  less  than  $3.00 

1 

- 

- 

3 

4 

6.8 

$3.00  and  less  than  $4.00 

2 

— 

— 

2 

4 

6.8 

$4.00  and  less  than  $5.00  | 

— 

1 

1 

4 

6 

10.2 

$5.00  and  less  than  $6.00 

— 

— 

— 

3 

3 

5.1 

$6.00  and  less  than  $7.00 

4 

1 

— 

3 

8 

13.5 

$7.00  and  less  than  $8.00 

1 

1 

7 

3 

12 

20.3 

$8.00  and  less  than  $9.00 

2 

— 

5 

3 

10 

16.9 

$9.00  and  less  than  $10.00 

1 

— 

3 

1 

5 

8.5 

$10.00  and  less  than  $11.00 

— 

— 

1 

3 

4 

6.8 

$11.00  and  less  than  $12.00 

— i 

— 

— 

2 

2 

3.4 

$12.00  and  less  than  $13.00 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

1.7 

Total . 

11 

3 

17 

28 

59 

100.0 

i  Six  makers  did  not  report  and  15  wholesale  workers  are  omitted. 


TABLE  24,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  173  BOSTON 
MAKERS.  CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT.  BASED 
ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


MAKERS  EARNING 

SPECIFIED  AVERAGE 

Average  Weekly  Wage 

WEEKLY  WAGE 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $3.00 . 

10 

5.8 

Less  than  $4.00 . 

16 

9.3 

Less  than  $5.00 . 

37 

21.4 

Less  than  $6.00 . 

70 

40.5 

Less  than  $7.00 . 

100 

57.8 

Less  than  $8.00 . 

131  | 

75.7 

Less  than  $9.00 . 

146 

84.4 

Less  than  $10.00 . 

159 

91.9 

Less  than  $11.00 . 

167 

96.5 

Less  than  $12.00 . 

173 

100.0 

76 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


stores.  Data  obtained  from  Boston  pay  rolls  (Table  22)  show 
55  per  cent.  (27)  of  the  wholesale  workers  receiving  less  than 
$7  per  week,  40  per  cent.  (53)  of  the  department  store  mak¬ 
ers  and  31  per  cent.  (9)  of  those  employed  in  millinery  stores 
and  parlors.  In  Philadelphia  the  largest  proportion  of  workers 
reporting  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than  $7  per  week  was  found 
among  the  employees  of  the  two  types  of  wholesale  establish¬ 
ments  (9  out  of  14),  the  next  largest  (15  out  of  28)  among 
millinery  store  employees,  and  the  smallest  (1  out  of  17)  among 
department  store  workers. 

Workers  are  frequently  absent  from  employment  for  various 
reasons,  and  their  weekly  wage  is  thus  reduced,  so  that  a  nomi¬ 
nal  weekly  wage  is  merely  an  indication  of  the  earning  capacity 
of  a  millinery  worker  employed  full  time.  It  is  impossible  to 
ascertain  from  the  pay  rolls  the  reasons  for  absences,  but  these 
reductions  in  the  weekly  wages  may  fairly  be  ascribed  to  the 
workers,  and  not  to  the  conditions  of  the  trade.  Only  one  pay 
roll,  that  of  a  small  parlor,  was  obtained  in  which  the  wages  of 
the  workers  were  not  docked  for  absence.  Including  the  makers 
in  this  parlor,  pay  rolls  were  obtained  from  only  13  which  did  not 
show  reductions.  For  the  majority  of  the  makers  these  reduc¬ 
tions  averaged  from  25  cents  to  $1  per  week,  but  for  35  of  the 
173  makers  working  4  weeks  or  longer  in  one  season,  they  varied 
from  $1  to  $2  or  more. 

By  definition,  the  average  weekly  wage  indicated  the  actual 
earning  power  of  the  worker.  Tables  24  and  25  show  that  57 
per  cent.  (100)  of  the  total  number  of  makers  employed  4  weeks 
or  more  in  one  season  received  an  average  weekly  wage  of  less 
than  $7  per  week,  and  84  per  cent.  (146)  of  less  than  $9  per 
week.  A  comparison  of  the  cumulative  percentages  of  Tables  21 
and  24  shows  that  over  84  per  cent,  of  the  workers  employed  for  a 
period  of  4  weeks  or  more  received  an  average  wage  of  less  than 
$9  per  week,  while  over  84  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
workers,  regardless  of  time  employed,  received  a  nominal  wage 
of  less  than  $10  per  week. 

Adam  Smith  stated  that  wages  vary  for  different  occupations 
according  to  their  “constancy  or  inconstancy  of  employment,” 
that  whatever  a  workman  in  a  seasonal  trade  earns  “while 


WAGES 


77 


TABLE  25,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  173  BOSTON 
MAKERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT. 

BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Number  of  Makers  Receiving  Specified  Wage 


Average  Weekly  Wage 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Millinery 
Stores  and 
Parlors 

Wholesale 

Firms 

Total 

Number 

Per 

Cent. 

Less  than  $1.00 

- 

• 

1 

1 

.6 

$1.00  and  less  than  $2.00 

1 

— 

— 

1 

.6 

$2.00  and  less  than  $3.00 

8 

— 

— 

8 

4.6 

$3.00  and  less  than  $4.00 

4 

1 

1 

6 

3.5 

$4.00  and  less  than  $5.00 

16 

1 

4 

21 

12.1 

$5.00  and  less  than  $6.00 

20 

1 

12 

33 

19.1 

$6.00  and  less  than  $7.00 

16 

6 

8 

30 

17.3 

$7.00  and  less  than  $8.00 

16 

9 

6 

31 

17.9 

$8.00  and  less  than  $9.00 

12 

2 

1 

15 

8.7 

$9.00  and  less  than  $10.00 

8 

3 

2 

13 

7.5 

$10.00  and  less  than  $11.00 

5 

3 

— 

8 

4.6 

$11.00  and  less  than  $12.00 

5 

1 

— 

6 

3.5 

Total  . 

111 

27 

35 

173 

100.0 

TABLE  26,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  THROUGHOUT  THE 
YEAR  OF  BOSTON  MAKERS1  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF 
ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS.2 


Average  Weekly  Wage 
Throughout  the  Year 

NUMBER  OF  MAKERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED 

WAGE 

Depart¬ 

ment 

Stores 

Millinery 

Parlors 

Wholesale 

Firms 

Total 

Number 

Per 

Cent. 

Less  than  $1.00  . 

1 

1 

- 

2 

2.2 

$1.00  and  less  than  $2.00 

9 

— 

— 

9 

9.9 

$2.00  and  less  than  $3.00 

13 

1 

2 

16 

17.6 

$3.00  and  less  than  $4.00 

14 

6 

2 

22 

24.1 

$4.00  and  less  than  $5.00 

8 

— 

4 

12 

13.2 

$5.00  and  less  than  $6.00 

3  1 

— 

4 

7  1 2 

7.7 

$6.00  and  less  than  $7.00 

8 

— 

— 

8 

8.8 

$7.00  and  less  than  $8.00 

8 

3 

— 

11 

12.1 

$8.00  and  less  than  $9.00  ' 

2 

1 

1 

4 

4.4 

Total . 

66 

12 

13 

91 

100.0 

1  No  maker  who  was  not  employed  both  seasons  for  at  least  4  weeks 
each  season,  was  included  in  this  table. 

2  The  pay  roll  for  the  millinery  store  covered  only  one  season. 


78 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


he  is  employed,  must  not  only  maintain  him  while  he  is  idle, 
but  make  him  some  compensation  for  those  anxious  and  de¬ 
sponding  moments  which  the  thought  of  so  precarious  a  situation 
must  sometimes  occasion. 7  7 1  This  requirement  can  not  be  met 
by  millinery  makers,  as  a  study  of  the  average  weekly  wage 
throughout  the  year  clearly  shows.  According  to  the  pay  rolls 
of  91  Boston  makers  as  given  in  Tables  26  and  27,  not  a  single 
worker  received  an  average  weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  of 
$9.  Of  these  91  makers,  67  per  cent.  (61)  received  an  aver¬ 
age  weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  of  less  than  $5  and  only 
33  per  cent,  received  $5  but  less  than  $9.  A  comparison  of  the 
nominal  weekly  wage,  the  average  weekly  wage,  and  the  aver¬ 
age  weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  received  by  Boston  makers, 
summarized  in  Table  28,  throws  into  strong  relief  the  effect 
of  the  millinery  seasons  upon  wages.  It  is  telling  evidence  that 
some  reform  is  needed  to  enable  this  large  proportion  of  mil¬ 
linery  workers  to  become  a  self-supporting  group  of  women. 
The  seasons  should  be  extended,  or  the  dull  seasons  occupied  by 
feasible  secondary  occupations,  else  the  workers  must  be  subsi¬ 
dized. 

Seventeen  pieceworkers  employed  in  Boston  wholesale  houses, 
and  15  employed  in  Philadelphia  were  interviewed.  In  addition 
complete  pay  rolls  were  obtained  from  7  piece  workers  from  one 
Boston  firm,  and  are  printed  in  Table  29.  Workers  A  and  B 
were  paid  time  wages  for  3  weeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  spring 
season  and  for  3  weeks  at  the  beginning  of  the  fall  season. 
These  were  ‘ ‘  old 7  7  workers  who,  with  the  time  workers  employed 
throughout  the  year,  attended  to  the  first  orders  of  the  season. 
These  pay  rolls  are  printed  in  full  to  illustrate  the  fluctuating 
wage  received  by  piece  workers.  The  wages  varied  from  $2.50 
to  $17.26  a  week  for  the  best  worker,  and  from  $1.50  to  $8.14 
per  week  for  the  worker  receiving  the  smallest  total  annual 
amount.  The  curves  of  Chart  III  plotted  on  the  pay  rolls  of 
three  workers  portray  these  fluctuations  in  wages. 

Many  wholesale  makers  claim  that  they  receive  higher  wages 

i  Smith,  Adam,  An  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Causes  of  the  Wealth 
of  Nations.  (Everyman’s  Lib.,  2  vols.,  London  and  New  York.)  Vol.  I, 
p.  92. 


WAGES 


79 


» 


80  MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  27,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  THROUGHOUT  THE 
YEAR  OF  BOSTON  MAKERS.  CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT. 

BASED  ON  TABLE  26. 


Average  Weekly  Wage  Throughout  the  Year 

MAKERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED  WAGE 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $3.00 . 

27 

29.7 

Less  than  $4.00 . 

49 

53.9 

Less  than  $5.00 . 

61 

67.0 

Less  than  $6.00 . 

68 

74.7 

Less  than  $7.00 . 

76 

83.5 

Less  than  $8.00 . 

87 

95.6 

Less  than  $9.00 . 

91 

100.0 

than  makers  in  retail  shops.  This  did  not  prove  true  of  whole¬ 
sale  time  workers,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  is  true  of  the  majority 
of  pieceworkers.  Table  29  shows  that  only  1  of  the  pieceworkers 
from  whom  complete  pay  rolls  were  obtained  averaged  more 
than  $9  per  week,  1  between  $7  and  $8,  1  between  $6  and  $7, 
3  between  $5  and  $6,  and  1  between  $4  and  $5.  The  average 
weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  varied  from  $1.91  to  $5.63. 
On  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  the  majority  of  wholesale  mak¬ 
ers  do  not  receive  as  high  wages  as  retail  makers. 

The  trimmers  who  form  only  from  12  to  14  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  of  millinery  workers  receive  wages  which  are  not 
only  a  payment  for  skill  but  also  for  artistic  ability.  Their  in¬ 
comes  represent  wages  of  supervision,  for  trimmers  superintend 
the  work  of  their  makers,  and  in  small  establishments  bear  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  the  whole  workroom. 


TABLE  28,  COMPARING  THE  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES,  THE  AVERAGE 
WEEKLY  WAGES,  AND  THE  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  THROUGH¬ 
OUT  THE  YEAR  OF  BOSTON  MAKERS.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Type  of  Wage  Return 

PER  CENT.  OF  MAKERS  HAVING  THE  TYPE  OF 
WAGE  RETURN  OF  SPECIFIED  AMOUNT 

Less  than 
$5 

Less  than 
$7 

Less  than 
$9 

Less  than 
$11 

Less  than 
$13 

Nominal  weekly  wage  . 

9.1 

42.8 

75.5 

91.3 

100.0 

Average  weekly  wage  . 

21.4 

57.8 

84.4 

96.5 

100.0 

Average  weekly  wage 
throughout  the  year  . 

67.0 

83.5 

100.0 

— 

— 

TABLE  29,  GIVING  COMPLETE  PAY  ROLLS  OF  7  BOSTON  PIECEWORKERS 

FOR  THE  YEAR  1912. 


Week  Ending 

AMOUNT  RECEIVED  FOR  SPECIFIED  WEEK  BY 

Worker 

A 

Worker 

B 

Worker 

C 

Worker 

D 

Worker 

E 

Worker 

F 

Worker 

G 

January  6 

— 

— 

« - 

— 

— 

-  1 

— 

January  13  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

January  20  . 

$  3.50 

$  3.50 

— 

— 

—  I 

— 

— 

January  27  . 

6.00 

6.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

February  3 

— 

— 

— 

— • 

— • 

— 

— 

February  10  . 

6.00 

6.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

February  17  . 

6.00 

6.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

February  24  . 

6.00 

6.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

March  2  .  . 

6.50 

6.50 

$  3.35 

$  3.75 

$  3.35 

$  4.60 

$  1.50 

March  9  .  . 

7.42 

5.08 

5,86 

2.83 

*4.06 

3.61 

4.50 

March  16 

12.20 

9.37 

7.60 

6.31 

5.04 

7.42 

4.50 

March  23 

12.40 

10.14 

6.19 

5.09 

4.51 

5.31 

4.51 

March  30 

13.96 

10.86 

7.25 

6.47 

6.87 

6.64 

4.64 

April  6 

15.08 

11.48 

5.82 

7.61 

5.67 

9.61 

5.16 

April  13  .  .  . 

17.26 

13.30 

6,28 

8.09 

6.78 

8.59 

4.95 

April  20  . 

14.20 

10.91 

10.13 

7.78 

5.63 

9.78 

4.43 

April  27  . 

9.92 

8.81 

4.85 

3.90 

3,10 

7.71 

4.40 

May  4  ... 

5.95 

5.30 

2.50 

1.40 

— 

3.30 

2.00 

May  11 

7.55 

5.83 

2.50 

— 

— 

2.75 

2.00 

May  18 

2.50 

2.00 

2.50 

— 

— 

.90 

1.65 

May  25 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

June  1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

June  8 

— 

— 

—  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

June  15. 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

June  22  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

June  29  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

July  6 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

July  13  .  .  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

July  20  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

July  27  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

August  3 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

August  10 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

August  17 

7.00 

6.00 

— 

3.35 

5.00 

— 

— 

August  24 

6.00 

6.00 

2.90 

3.74 

5.00 

5.00 

3.35 

August  31 

6.00 

6.00 

5.00 

5.00 

4.15 

3.75 

4.00 

September  7  . 

8.40 

6.43 

3.10 

3.16 

3.08 

4.93 

5.05 

September  14 

11.63 

10.78 

1.95 

6.15 

5.71 

6.36 

1.63 

September  21 

15.86 

10.48 

5.88 

7.11 

6.67 

6.64 

5.85 

September  28 

12.09 

10.97 

5.81 

6.86 

7.24 

6.14 

7.26 

October  5 

11.28 

10.53 

5.77 

7.33 

5.97 

7.58 

8.14 

October  12 

12.91 

11.72 

5.15 

5.48 

6.46 

7.30 

7.45 

October  19 

12.47 

10.49 

8.94 

6.49 

6.00 

6.64 

5.14 

October  26 

8.00 

7.15 

6.15 

10.85 

7.00 

8.00 

7.15 

November  2  . 

6.00 

7.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

November  9  . 

6.00 

7.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

« — 

November  16 

6.00 

6.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

November  23 

10.92 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

November  30 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

December  7  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

December  14  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

December  21  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

December  28  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Total  income 

$293.00 

$243.63 

$115.48 

$118.75 

$107.29 

$132.56 

$99.26 

Average  weekly 

wage 

Average  weekly 

9.16 

7.86 

5.25 

5.65 

5.36 

6.03 

4.51 

wage  through- 

out  the  year  . 

5.63 

4.68 

2.22 

2.28 

2.06 

2.55 

1.91 

82  MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


Number  not  reporting,  in  Boston,  10;  in  Philadelphia, 


WAGES 


83 


TABLE  31,  SHOWING  TOTAL  ANNUAL  EARNINGS  OF  29  BOSTON 
TRIMMERS.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Total  Annual  Earnings 

TRIMMERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED  ANNUAL  INCOME 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $500  .... 

8 

27.6 

$500  and  less  than  $  600 

6 

20.7 

$600  and  less  than  $  700 

8 

27.6 

$700  and  less  than  $  800 

3 

10.4 

$800  and  less  than  $  900 

2 

6.9 

$900  and  less  than  $1000 

1 

3.4 

$1300  and  less  than  $1325 

1 

3.4 

TABLE  32,  SHOWING  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  W'AGES  OF  TRIMMERS. 
CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT.1  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM 
WORKERS  AND  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Trimmers  Receiving  Specified  Wage  According 
to  Data  from 


Nominal  Weekly  Wage 

BOSTON  WORKERS 

BOSTON  PAY  ROLLS 

PHILADELPHIA 

WORKERS 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $10.00 

2 

8.7 

6 

8.9 

1 

4.0 

Less  than  $15.00 

8  i 

34.8 

16 

23.9 

14 

56.0 

Less  than  $20.00 

16, 

69.6 

42 

62.7 

19 

76.0 

Less  than  $25.00 

19 

82.6 

52 

77.6 

21 

84.0 

Less  than  $30.00 

20 

86.9 

61 

91.0 

23 

92.0 

Less  than  $35.00 

22 

95.7 

64 

95.5 

24 

96.0 

Less  than  $40.00 

23 

100.0 

64 

95.5 

24 

96.0 

Less  than  $45.00 

— 

— 

65 

97.0 

24 

96.0 

$50.00  and  less 

• 

— 

67 

100.0 

25 

100.0 

i  Number  not  reporting  in  Boston,  10;  in  Philadelphia,  7. 


TABLE  33,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  53  BOSTON  TRIM¬ 
MERS.  CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Average  Weekly  Wage 

TRIMMERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED  WAGE 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $10.00 

6 

11.3 

Less  than  $15.00 

26 

49.1 

Less  than  $20.00 

42 

79.2 

Less  than  $25.00 

50 

94.3 

Less  than  $30.00 

51 

94.3 

Less  than  $40.00 

53 

100.0 

84 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  34,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  OF  53  BOSTON 
TRIMMERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF  ESTABLISHMENT. 

BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


NUMBER  OF  TRIMMERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED 
WAGE  IN 


Average  Weekly  Wage 

Department 

Stores 

Millinery 
Stores  and 
Parlors 

Wholesale 

Houses 

Total 

$  6.00  and  less  than  $  7.00  . 

____ 

2 

2 

$  7.00  and  less  than  $  8.00  . 

— 

— 

1 

1 

$  8.00  and  less  than  $  9.00  . 

— 

— 

1 

1 

$  9.00  and  less  than  $10.00  . 

1 

— 

1 

2 

$10.00  and  less  than  $11.00  . 

3 

— 

— 

3 

$11.00  and  less  than  $12.00  . 

2 

1 

— 

3 

$12.00  and  less  than  $13.00  . 

— 

2 

— 

2 

$13.00  and  less  than  $14.00  . 

3 

— 

— 

3 

$14.00  and  less  than  $15.00  . 

7 

1 

1 

9 

$15.00  and  less  than  $16.00  . 

4 

2 

— 

6 

$16.00  and  less  than  $17.00  . 

1 

1 

— 

2 

$17.00  and  less  than  $18.00  . 

2 

1 

2 

5 

$18.00  and  less  than  $19.00  . 

2 

1 

— 

3 

$20.00  and  less  than  $21.00  . 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$21.00  and  less  than  $22.00  . 

— 

1 

2 

3 

$23.00  and  less  than  $24.00  . 

3 

— 

— 

3 

$24.00  and  less  than  $25.00  . 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$27.00  and  less  than  $28.00  . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

$30.00  and  less  than  $40.00  . 

1 

1 

— 

2 

Total . 

31 

12 

10 

53 

TABLE  35,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  THROUGHOUT  THE 
YEAR  OF  29  BOSTON  TRIMMERS.  CUMULATIVE  STATEMENT. 

BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Average  Weekly  Wage  Throughout 
the  Year 

TRIMMERS  RECEIVING  SPECIFIED  WAGE 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Less  than  $10.00 

6 

20.6 

Less  than  $15.00 

19 

65.5 

Less  than  $20.00 

27 

93.1 

Less  than  $25.00 

29 

100.0 

The  total  earnings  of  Boston  trimmers  for  whom  pay  rolls 
were  secured  are  given  in  Table  19  and  summarized  in  Table  31. 
They  varied  from  about  $300  to  about  $1,325  a  year.  The  med¬ 
ian  total  annual  earnings  was  $597.49 — over  twice  the  median 
($210.52)  for  makers. 


WAGES 


85 


Only  5  trimmers  received  as  little  as  the  better  paid  makers, 
(that  is  between  $275  and  $475)  while  the  majority  (58  per 
cent.)  earned  between  $500  and  $800  a  year. 

According  to  Table  30,  the  nominal  weekly  wages  of  Boston 
trimmers  varied  from  less  than  $10  to  $50  per  week,  those  of 
Philadelphia  trimmers  from  less  than  $10  to  $45.  A  small 
percentage  of  trimmers  received  less  than  $10  a  week,  but  these 
were  employed  mostly  in  wholesale  houses.  Only  1  Philadelphia 
trimmer,  employed  in  a  small  store,  2  trimmers  interviewed  in 
Boston,  and  6,  working  in  wholesale  houses,  for  whom  pay 
rolls  were  obtained,  received  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than 
$10  a  week.  Only  4  trimmers  were  interviewed  in  either  Bos¬ 
ton  or  Philadelphia  who  received  $25  or  more  a  week  but  pay 
rolls  were  obtained  for  15  who  received  this  wage  or  even  more. 
Among  these  15  trimmers,  3  were  called  “designers”  on  the  pay 
rolls,  and  earned  respectively  $50,  $45  and  $35  per  week.  In  a 
department  store  doing  medium  grade  work  were  3  New  York 
trimmers,  employed  for  one  season  each,  whose  wages  exceeded 
that  of  the  head  of  the  workroom.  Table  32  shows  that  69  per 
cent,  of  the  Boston  trimmers  and  76  per  cent,  of  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  trimmers  who  reported  received  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than 
$20  per  week  and  about  63  per  cent,  of  the  Boston  trimmers 
for  whom  pay  rolls  were  obtained.  Of  the  trimmers  interviewed 
about  61  per  cent,  of  the  Boston  trimmers,  72  per  cent,  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  and  54  per  cent,  of  the'  Boston  trimmers  for  whom  pay 
rolls  were  obtained,  received  between  $10  and  $20  per  week. 
Those  trimmers  who  were  paid  a  nominal  weekly  wage  of  $25 
or  more  usually  assumed  considerable  responsibility. 

The  nominal  weekly  wages  received  by  trimmers  as  well  as 
makers  seem  to  vary  with  the  type  of  establishment  in  which 
the  workers  were  employed.  (See  Table  30.)  But  the  number 
studied,  when  classified  by  type  of  establishment,  becomes  meager 
and  any  analysis  must  be  considered  as  suggestive  and  not  con¬ 
clusive.  Trimmers  employed  in  wholesale  establishments  re¬ 
ceived  the  lowest  wages  in  both  cities.  Statistics  from  Boston 
pay  rolls  verified  this  tendency.  In  general  the  largest  propor¬ 
tion  of  trimmers  receiving  a  nominal  wage  of  $15  or  more  in 
Boston  were  employed  in  millinery  stores  and  parlors,  and  the 


86 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


next  largest  in  department  stores.  In  Philadelphia  the  largest 
proportion  of  the  highly  paid  trimmers  were  employed  in  mil¬ 
linery  stores. 

The  wages  of  trimmers  are  docked  for  absence  so  that  the 
nominal  weekly  wage  does  not  represent  actual  earnings.  The 
average  amount  of  such  deductions  varied  from  25  cents  to  $3 
or  more  per  week  according  to  the  pay  rolls.  Wages  of  only  5 
of  the  53  trimmers  were  not  docked,  while  for  the  majority,  the 
weekly  wages  were  reduced  from  75  cents  to  $2.  The  average 
weekly  earnings  of  Boston  trimmers  are  summarized  in  Table 
33.  All  but  3  trimmers  earned  less  than  $25  per  week  and 
about  68  per  cent,  received  between  $10  and  $20.  Table  34 
shows  the  average  weekly  wages  of  trimmers  classified  by  type 
of  establishment.  Four  trimmers,  employed  in  wholesale  houses, 
received  an  average  weekly  wage  of  less  than  $9,  11  per  cent, 
earned  less  than  $10  and  almost  one-half  (49  per  cent.)  less  than 
$15  per  week,  and  about  38  per  cent,  between  $10  and  $15  and 
only  3  trimmers  $25  or  more.  As  the  number  given  for  each 
wage  interval  and  type  of  establishment  is  small,  conclusions 
based  on  these  figures  must  be  tentative. 

The  average  weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  received  by 
trimmers,  as  given  in  Table  35  (based  on  Table  36),  shows  that 
20.69  per  cent.  (6)  of  the  29  studied  averaged  less  than  $10  per 
week,  66  per  cent.  (19)  less  than  $15,  and  34  per  cent.  (10)  be¬ 
tween  $15  and  $25. 

A  comparison  of  the  nominal  weekly  wage,  the  average  weekly 
wage  and  the  average  weekly  wage  throughout  the  year  shows 
the  reductions  in  the  wages  of  trimmers  due  to  loss  of  time  in 
the  working  week  and  the  working  year.  The  latter  would 
probably  be  greater  if  the  annual  income  of  all  trimmers  studied 
could  be  secured  from  the  pay  rolls.  The  comparison  is  sum¬ 
marized  in  Table  37. 

Many  employers  stated  that  they  usually  retained  during  the 
dull  season  the  general  “all-round”  maker  who  could  trim,  and 
study  of  the  relation  between  the  nominal  weekly  wage  and  the 
number  of  weeks  employed  during  the  year  seems  to  verify  this 
assertion.  According  to  Table  38  it  was  the  highly  paid  maker 
and  the  average  trimmer  earning  from  $15  to  $20  a  week,  who 


WAGES 


87 


TABLE  36,  SHOWING  AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES  THROUGHOUT  THE 
YEAR  OF  29  BOSTON  TRIMMERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  TYPE  OF 
ESTABLISHMENT.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


NUMBER  OF  TRIMMERS  RECEIVING 
SPECIFIED  WAGE  IN 


out  the  Year 

% 

Department 

Stores 

Parlors 

Wholesale 

Houses 

Total 

$  7.00  and  less  than  $  8.00 

- 

1 

- 

1 

$  8.00  and  less  than  $  9.00 

1 

— 

1 

2 

$  9.00  and  less  than  $10.00 

— 

2 

1 

3 

$10.00  and  less  than  $11.00  . 

2 

— 

— 

2 

$11.00  and  less  than  $12.00  . 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$12.00  and  less  than  $13.00 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$13.00  and  less  than  $14.00 

,  1 

1 

— 

2 

$14.00  and  less  than  $15.00 

7 

— 

— 

7 

$15.00  and  less  than  $16.00 

2 

— 

— 

2 

$17.00  and  less  than  $18.00  . 

2 

— 

2 

4 

$18.00  and  less  than  $19.00 

2 

— 

— 

2 

$20.00  and  less  than  $21.00 

1 

— 

— 

1 

$23.00  and  less  than  $24.00  . 

i  1 

— 

— 

1 

3?  oi/cil  ••••••• 

21 

4 

4 

29 

TABLE  37,  COMPARING  THE  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES,  THE 
AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGES,  AND  THE  AVERAGE  WEEKLY 
WAGES  THROUGHOUT  THE  YEAR  RECEIVED  BY 
BOSTON  TRIMMERS.  BASED  ON  PAY  ROLLS. 


Type  of  Wage 
Return 


PER  CENT.  OF  TRIMMERS  HAVING  THE  TYPE  OF  WAGE 
RETURN  OF  SPECIFIED  AMOUNT 


Less 

than 

$10 

Less 

than 

$15 

Less 

than 

$20 

Less 

than 

$25 

Less 

than 

$30 

Less 

than 

$40 

$50 

and 

Less 

8.9 

23.9 

62.7 

77.6 

91.0 

1 

95.5 

100.0 

11.3 

49.1 

79.2 

94.3 

98.1 

100.0 

— 

20.7 

65.5 

93.1 

100.0 

— 

— 

— 

Nominal  weekly 
wage  .  .  '  . 

Average  weekly 
wage  . 

Average  weekly 
wage  throughout 
the  year  . 


were  employed  for  the  longest  seasons.  Table  38  also  shows 
that  the  majority  of  makers  receiving  less  than  $7  a  week  worked 
during  shorter  seasons  than  the  majority  of  the  makers  earning 
$9  or  more  a  week.  Thus  only  two  makers  earning  $11  or  more, 
worked  less  than  33  weeks  during  the  year  and  60  per  cent,  of 
the  group  earning  $9  and  less  than  $11,  71  per  cent,  of  the 


88 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


02 

02 

<D 


T3 

0) 

o 

'Ph 

s 

O) 

<D 

PS 

o 

£ 

o 

J25 


* 


than  4  weeks  each  season  is  included. 


WAGES 


89 


i  Number  not  reporting,  in  Boston,  10;  in  Philadelphia,  6.  Seventeen  Boston  and  14  Philadelphia  wholesale 
pieceworkers  are  omitted. 


90 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


group  earning  $7  and  less  than  $9,  and  84  per  cent,  of  the  group 
earning  $5  and  less  than  $7,  worked  less  than  33  weeks. 

Increase  in  wages  for  both  trimmers  and  makers  depends 
not  only  upon  ability,  but  also  upon  experience  and  personal 
qualities  of  faithfulness  and  stability.  Wages  paid  to  Boston 
and  Philadelphia  workers  tend  to  increase  in  proportion  to 
the  length  of  experience.  This  tendency  is  shown  more  clearly 
in  the  Philadelphia  statistics  than  in  the  Boston  figures  as  pre¬ 
sented  in  Tables  39  and  40.  In  general  the  lowest  wages  are 
received  by  the  workers  in  the  lowest  age  groups,  the  highest 
by  those  in  the  highest  age  groups.  In  both  cities  the  majority 
of  makers  of  less  than  5  years’  experience  received  a  nominal 
wage  of  less  than  $8  per  week,  and  the  majority  of  makers  of 
5  years’  experience  or  more  received  $8  or  more  per  week.  The 
increase  in  wages  for  trimmers  is  similar  to  that  for  makers. 
Less  experienced  trimmers  received  low  wages,  and  wages  in¬ 
creased  with  experience.  One  trimmer  of  less  than  5  years’  expe¬ 
rience  in  each  city  received  a  nominal  wage  of  $15  or  more  a 
week,  while  the  majority  of  trimmers  of  5  years’  experience  or 

TABLE  40,  SHOWING  THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  NOMINAL  WEEKLY  WAGES 
AND  LENGTH  OF  EXPERIENCE  OF  TRIMMERS  IN  BOSTON  AND 
PHILADELPHIA  RETAIL  ESTABLISHMENT'S.1  BASED 
ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS. 


Number  of  Trimmers  Receiving  Specified  Wage 
with  Specified  Experience 


Nominal  Weekly  Wage 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Less 

than 

5 

Years 

5 

Years 

and 

less 

than 

10 

10 

Years 

and 

more 

Total 

Less 

than 

5 

Years 

5 

Years 

and 

less 

than 

10 

10 

Years 

and 

more 

Total 

Less  than  $10.00  .... 

1 

1 

_ 

2 

_ _ _ 

1 

_ 

1 

$10.00  and  less  than  $15.00 

2 

3 

1 

6 

2 

6 

2 

10 

$15.00  and  less  than  $20.00 

— 

3 

3 

6 

1 

4 

3 

8 

$20.00  and  less  than  $25.00 

1 

1 

1 

3 

— 

1 

— 

1 

$25.00  and  less  than  $30.00 

— 

— 

1 

1 

— 

— 

3 

3 

$30.00  and  less  than  $35.00 

— 

— 

2 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

$45.00  and  less  than  $50.00 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 

1 

Total . 

4 

8 

8 

20 

3 

12 

9 

24 

i  Number  not  reporting  in  Boston  13;  in  Philadelphia,  8. 


WAGES 


91 


more  received  $15  or  more  a  week.  No  trimmer  employed  for 
less  than  10  years  received  a  nominal  weekly  wage  of  $25  or 
more. 

Some  degree  of  permanence  on  the  part  of  the  workroom 
force  is  desirable.  Workers  who  know  their  employer’s  “ways,” 
who  maintain  the  standard  of  work,  and  whose  reliability  and 
judgment  have  been  tested  are  valuable,  and  employers  are 
usually  willing  to  pay  for  these  qualities.  The  usual  reward 
for  faithfulness  and  stability  is  employment  for  longer  seasons 
and  at  higher  pay.  The  rate  of  advance  for  makers  is  usually  $1 
a  week,  and  rarely,  $2.  The  pay  rolls  show  that  of  the  91 
makers  who  were  employed  a  second  season,  33  were  advanced 
in  wages  during  the  year  from  $1  to  $2  a  week.  Twenty-two 
of  these  makers  had  been  receiving  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than 
$8  a  week,  and  11  were  paid  nominal  wages  varying  from  $8 
to  $12  a  week.  Wages  of  trimmers  were  increased  from  $1  to 
$5  a  week,  though  it  is  the  unusual  worker  who  receives  as 
large  an  increase  as  $5.  Of  the  26  trimmers  who  remained 
both  seasons,  5  received  advances  of  wages  ranging  from  $1  to 
$5  a  week. 

To  sum  up — the  wages  received  by  millinery  employees  vary 
according  to  the  occupation,  the  type  of  shop  in  which  they  are 
employed  and  the  length  of  experience.  In  the  lower  division 
of  the  trade,  comprising  about  three-fourths  of  the  total  number 
of  workers,  the  wages  are  insufficient  to  maintain  a  proper 
standard  of  living  unless  subsidized,  which  is  not  true  of  the 
wages  paid  to  workers  in  the  higher  division.  The  majority  of 
makers  receive  a  nominal  wage  of  less  than  $9  a  week,  the 
largest  number  receiving  from  $6  to  $8  a  week.  A  nominal 
weekly  wage  of  $8  or  $9  is  the  highest  wage  an  average  worker 
may  expect.  Only  the  unusual  maker  receives  $10  or  over  a 
week.  This  wage  is  reduced  by  occasional  absences  from  work 
so  that  the  nominal  wages  of  makers  are  docked  amounts  aver¬ 
aging  from  25  cents  to  $1  a  week.  The  short  seasons  also 
operate  to  reduce  wages  to  such  an  extent  that  no  maker  has 
an  average  wage  throughout  the  year  of  $9  a  week,  and  the 
majority  average  less  than  $5.  Most  trimmers  receive  nominal 
weekly  wages  ranging  from  $10  to  $25,  the  larger  number  re- 


92 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


ceiving  between  $12  and  $20  a  week.  These  wages  are  also 
reduced  by  occasional  absences  from  work,  in  amounts  vary¬ 
ing  on  the  average  from  $1  to  $5.  Because  of  their  high  wages, 
short  seasons  do  not  operate  to  make  trimmers  parasitic  work¬ 
ers,  and  their  average  weekly  wages  throughout  the  year  are 
rarely  reduced  to  $9.  The  average  trimmer  does  not  usually 
receive  more  than  a  nominal  weekly  wage  of  $20,  but  trimmers 
of  ability  may  earn  as  high  as  $35  or  even  $50  a  week.  In  gen¬ 
eral  workers  employed  in  retail  establishments  receive  higher 
wages  than  those  in  wholesale  establishments,  and  this  is  true 
of  both  time  and  piece  wholesale  workers.  A  study,  based  on 
pay  rolls,  of  the  relation  between  number  of  weeks  employed 
during  the  year  and  nominal  wage  received  showed  that  the 
less  highly  paid  maker  was  employed  for  shorter  seasons  than 
the  more  highly  paid,  but  in  most  shops  it  is  the  trimmer  re¬ 
ceiving  the  medium  wage  who  may  be  retained  for  the  longest 
season.  Wages  for  makers  are  advanced  at  the  rate,  usually  of 
$1  a  week,  infrequently  of  $2;  of  trimmers  from  $1  to  $5  a 
week.  Wages  paid  to  makers  and  trimmers  tend  to  increase 
with  the  length  of  experience;  the  majority  of  makers  of  less 
than  5  years’  experience  earned  nominal  wages  of  less  than  $8 
a  week,  of  trimmers,  less  than  $15,  while  the  majority  of  makers 
of  over  5  years’  experience  received  nominal  wages  of  more  than 
$8  a  week,  of  trimmers,  of  more  than  $15  a  week. 


CHAPTER  VI 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 

A  knowledge  of  the  workers  of  a  trade  as  expressed  in  their 
standards  of  life  and  the  standards  of  their  families  is  of  im¬ 
portance  in  a  study  of  any  trade.  Some  criterion  may  be  ob¬ 
tained  from  a  review  of  the  nationality  of  the  workers  entering 
the  trade,  of  the  education  they  have  received  and  of  their  ages 
and  living  conditions.  Americans  and  Irish  form  the  majority 
of  millinery  workers  according  to  Table  41.  In  Boston  about 
55  per  cent.  (61)  of  the  total  number  reporting  on  nationality 
were  Americans  and  Irish ;  in  Philadelphia,  about  62  per  cent. 
(74)  of  the  total  number  of  workers  interviewed  were  Ameri¬ 
can.  Jews  rank  second  in  number,  forming  15  per  cent.  (17) 
of  the  Boston  workers  reporting,  and  24  per  cent.  (29)  of  the 
total  number  of  Philadelphia  workers  visited.  About  30  per 
cent.  (33)  of  the  Boston  workers  who  reported  on  national¬ 
ity,  and  about  14  per  cent.  (17)  of  the  Philadelphia  workers 
interviewed  reported  other  nationalities. 

Most  of  the  trimmers  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  were  Ameri¬ 
cans  and  Irish,  16  of  the  24  Boston  trimmers  reporting,  and 
21  of  the  32  Philadelphia  trimmers.  It  was  frequently  stated 
that  Jewish  girls  were  the  best  millinery  workers,  since  their 
work  usually  bore  a  distinctly  “ French”  touch.  It  may  be  true 
that  they  possess  the  artistic  ability  demanded  of  trimmers,  but 
few  of  them  were  found  in  the  higher  division.  In  Boston  only 
2  of  the  17  Jewish  girls  were  trimmers,  in  Philadelphia  only 
4  of  the  29.  Even  in  wholesale  houses,  where  the  members 
of  the  firm  and  many  of  the  workers  are  Jews,  the  trimmers, 
as  a  rule,  are  not  Jews.  The  fact  that  Jewish  workers  are 
somewhat  younger  than  those  of  other  nationalities  may  ac¬ 
count  for  so  few  Jewish  trimmers  in  either  city. 


94 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  41,  SHOWING  NATIONALITY  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS, 
CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  of  Workers  of  Specified  Nationality 


IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Nationality 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Trim¬ 

mers 

Total 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Trim- 

mers 

Total 

Makers 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

Makers 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

American 

- 

25 

8 

33 

29.7 

5 

48 

21  1 

74 

61.7 

Irish 

— 

20 

8 

28 

25.3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Jewish  . 
Miscel- 

4 

11 

2 

17 

15.3 

3 

22 

4 

29 

24.2 

laneous  2  . 

2 

25 

6 

33 

29.7 

1 

9 

7 

17 

14.1 

Total 

6 

81 

24 

111 

100.0 

9 

79 

32 

120 

100.0 

1  Twenty-nine  Boston  workers  and  1  Philadelphia  worker  did  not  report  as  to  nationality. 

2  Miscellaneous  includes : 


Boston 


Canadian . 9 

English . 3 

Scotch . 2 

German . 8 

Russian . 2 

Dutch . 1 

Italian . 2 

Swedish . 2 

French . 2 

Swiss  . 1 

Danish  .........  1 


Philadelphia 


Irish . 8 

German . 6 

Scotch . 2 

African . 1 

Total . IT 


Total 


33 


TABLE  42,  SHOWING  NATIONALITY  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS,  CLASSI¬ 
FIED  BY  EMPLOYMENT  IN  WHOLESALE  OR  RETAIL  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  of  Workers  of  Specified  Nationality 


IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Nationality 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Retail 

Total 

Whole¬ 

sale 

Total 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

Retail 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

American  . 

1 

32 

33 

29.7 

18 

56 

74 

61.7 

Irish 

1 

26 

27 

25.3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Jewish 

Miscellane- 

4 

12 

16 

15.3 

17 

12 

29 

24.2 

ous  . 

7 

25 

32 

29.7 

7 

10 

17 

14.1 

Total  . 

13 

95 

108 

100.0 

42 

78 

120 

100.0 

i  Thirty-two  Boston  workers  and  1  Philadelphia  worker  did  not  report  as  to  nationality 
or  place  of  employment. 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 


95 


Americans  seem  to  predominate  among  the  retail  workers 
in  Boston  and  in  Philadelphia,  and  Jews  among  the  wholesale 
workers,  although  the  lack  of  data  in  Boston  makes  this  con¬ 
clusion  uncertain.  (See  Table  42.)  A  large  number  of  Ameri¬ 
can  girls  were  employed  in  the  wholesale  manufacturing  milli¬ 
nery  establishments  of  Philadelphia.  The  latter  were  evidently 
willing  to  accept  the  stigma  of  “ factory  worker”  because  of  the 
longer  seasons. 

The  younger  workers  predominate  in  millinery  as  in  other 
trades  employing  a  large  proportion  of  women.1  (See  Table  43.) 
Few  workers  return  to  millinery  after  marriage;  only  six  were 
interviewed  in  each  city.  If  they  do  reenter  the  trade,  it  is 
usually  as  employers  or  as  home  milliners.  In  Boston  66  per 
cent.  (75)  of  the  total  number  of  workers  reporting,  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  62  per  cent.  (75)  of  the  total  number  visited  were 
under  25  years  of  age,  and  about  57  per  cent,  in  Boston  and 
54  per  cent,  in  Philadelphia  were  over  16  but  under  25.  The 
large  number  of  trade  school  workers  visited  accounts  for  the 
high  percentage  of  younger  Boston  workers,  as  well  as  the  small 
proportion  of  Boston  workers  25  years  of  age  and  over.  Twenty- 
six  per  cent.  (30)  of  the  Boston  workers  reporting  and  29  per 
cent.  (35)  of  the  Philadelphia  workers  reporting  were  between 
24  and  35  years  of  age.  Only  9  Boston  and  10  Philadelphia 
employees  were  35  years  of  age  or  over. 

The  age  of  the  workers  classified  by  occupation,  as  given  in 
Table  43,  throws  some  light  on  certain  millinery  problems.  All 
but  two  apprentices  visited  in  both  cities  were  under  18.  About 
59  per  cent.  (46)  of  the  82  Boston  makers  reporting  as  to  age, 
and  50  per  cent,  of  the  80  Philadelphia  makers  were  20  or 
younger,  and  very  few  in  either  city — 5  in  Boston,  4  in  Phila¬ 
delphia — were  under  17  years  of  age.  About  three-fourths  of 
the  makers  in  both  cities  were  19  years  or  over.  About  two- 
thirds  in  each  city  were  over  16  and  under  25  years  of  age  and 
one-fourth,  25  years  or  over.  A  striking  difference  is  found  when 
comparing  the  ages  of  makers  and  of  trimmers.  Most  of  the 
trimmers  of  both  cities  (over  90  per  cent.)  were  between  the 
ages  of  23  and  34  inclusive,  only  4  Boston  and  3  Philadelphia 

i  Statistics  of  Women  at  Work,  1900,  p.  77. 


96 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


trimmers  being  older  than  34  years  of  age.  Although  millinery 
employers  and  employees  are  unanimous  in  declaring  that 
“trimmers  are  born  not  made/’  yet,  besides  natural  talent  for 
trimming,  the  worker  must  also  acquire  experience.  Evidently 
the  girl  entering  the  trade  at  16  years  of  age  or  even  older  must 
be  employed  from  4  to  6  years  in  a  division  in  which  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  workers  receive  less  than  $9.  The  fact  of  especial 
significance  in  connection  with  the  question  of  wage  is  that  most 
millinery  workers  are  of  an  age  when  they  should  be  self-sup¬ 
porting.  (See  Table  43.) 


TABLE  43,  SHOWING  AGE  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS 
CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION.  BASED  ON  REPORTS 

FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  of  Workers  of  Specified  Age 


Age 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Makers 

Trim¬ 

mers 

Total 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Makers 

Trim¬ 

mers 

Total 

15  years  . 

2 

2 

— 

4 

3 

— 

— 

3 

16  years  . 

3 

3 

1  — 

6 

3 

4 

1  — 

7 

17  years  . 

1 

9 

— 

10 

1 

7 

— 

8 

18  years  . 

— 

8 

— 

8 

— 

12 

1 

13 

19  years  . 

— 

16 

— 

16 

2 

6 

— 

8 

20  years  . 

— 

8 

2 

10 

— 

11 

— 

11 

21  years  . 

— 

6 

— 

6 

— 

7 

1 

8 

22  years  . 

— 

7 

3 

10 

— 

3 

3 

6 

23  years  . 

— 

3 

2 

5 

— 

5 

2 

7 

24  years  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

1 

4 

25  years  . 

— 

2 

3 

5 

— 

2 

4 

6 

26  years  . 

— 

1 

1 

2 

— 

4 

2 

6 

27  years  . 

— 

— 

3 

3 

— 

2 

2 

4 

28  years  . 

— 

1 

1 

2 

— 

1 

1 

2 

29  years  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

3 

1 

4 

30  years  . 

— 

6 

5 

11 

— 

— 

3 

3 

31  years  . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

— 

3 

4 

7 

32  years  . 

— 

1 

— 

1 

— 

— 

1 

1 

33  years  . 

— 

3 

2 

5 

— 

— 

2 

2 

34  years  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

35  years  . 

— 

— 

3 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Over  35  years 

— 

5 

1 

6 

— 

7 

3 

10 

Total 

6 

82 

26 

114 

9 

80 

31 

120 

i  Twenty-six  Boston  workers  and  1  Philadelphia  worker  did  not  report. 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 


97 


TABLE  44,  SHOWING  AGE  AND  NATIONALITY  OF  100  BOSTON  WORKERS. 

BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


NUMBER  OF  WORKERS  OF  SPECIFIED  AGE 


Age 

Ameri¬ 

can 

Irish 

Jewish 

Miscel¬ 

laneous 

Total 

Number 

PerCent. 

15  years  and  under  21  . 

14 

9 

12 

13 

48 

48.0 

21  years  and  under  25  . 

4 

4 

4 

6 

18 

18.0 

25  years  and  under  35  . 

10 

10 

1 

4 

25 

25.0 

35  years  and  over 

4 

1 

— 

4 

9 

9.0 

Total . 

32 

24 

17 

27 

100 

100.0 

i  Number  not  reporting,  40. 


The  highest  percentage  of  older  workers  is  found  among  the 
American  and  Irish,  of  younger  workers,  among  the  Jewish. 
Tables  44  and  45  summarize  the  relation  between  age  and  na¬ 
tionality  for  millinery  workers.  A  larger  percentage  of  Ameri¬ 
can  and  Irish  employees  were  in  the  younger  group  in  Boston 
than  in  Philadelphia,  because  of  the  Trade  School  workers,  who 
were  mostly  Irish.1  Over  43  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
American  workers  reporting  in  Boston,  and  over  37  per  cent, 
of  the  Irish  were  20  years  of  age  or  younger,  while  only  30  per 
cent,  of  the  Philadelphia  workers  fell  within  this  age  group. 
Over  55  per  cent,  of  the  American  and  Irish  workers  reporting 
in  Boston,  and  53  per  cent,  in  Philadelphia  were  less  than  25, 

TABLE  45,  SHOWING  AGE  AND  NATIONALITY  OF  119  PHILADELPHIA 
WORKERS.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.2 


NUMBER  OF  WORKERS  OF  SPECIFIED  AGE 


Age 

American 

Jewish 

Miscellaneous 

Total 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

15  years  and  under  21  . 

22 

23 

4 

49 

41.2 

21  years  and  under  25  . 

17 

4 

4 

25 

21.0 

25  years  and  under  35  . 

27 

2 

6 

36 

29.4 

35  years  and  over  . 

7 

— 

3 

10 

8.4 

Total . 

73 

29 

17 

119 

100.0 

i  The  ages  of  workers  trained  in  the  Boston  Trade  School,  who  were 
visited,  were  as  follows:  15  years  of  age,  1;  16  years,  2;  17  years,  9;  18 
years,  8;  19  years,  12;  20  years,  4;  21  years,  4. 


2  Number  not  reporting,  2. 


98 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


about  45  per  cent,  in  Boston  and  47  per  cent,  in  Philadelphia, 
were  25  years  of  age  or  older.  In  contrast  to  these  figures, 
over  70  per  cent,  of  the  Jewish  workers  reporting  in  Boston, 
and  79  per  cent,  in  Philadelphia,  were  reported  as  20  years  of 
age  or  younger,  and  94  per  cent,  in  Boston  and  93  per  cent,  in 
Philadelphia  were  less  than  25.  Only  1  Jewess  in  Boston  and  2 
in  Philadelphia  were  over  25  years  of  age,  and  no  Jewish  worker 
over  34  was  interviewed  in  either  city.  The  tendency  of  chil¬ 
dren  of  foreign  families  to  begin  work  at  an  early  age  is  the 
chief  explanation  of  this  large  proportion  of  young  workers 
among  the  Jews.  Also  foreigners  marry  younger  than  Ameri¬ 
cans,  thus  accounting  for  the  absence  of  Jewish  workers  from 
the  higher  age  groups. 

The  educational  standards  of  millinery  workers  are  found 
to  be  above  the  average  although  the  educational  requirements 
of  the  trade  are  not  high.  Only  a  few  Boston  employers  and  no 
Philadelphia  employers  made  any  specifications  as  to  education. 
The  reason  must  be  sought,  therefore,  among  the  workers  them¬ 
selves.  The  preponderance  of  Americans  with  American  stand¬ 
ards,  accounts  to  a  great  extent  for  the  comparatively  high  edu¬ 
cational  attainments  of  milliners.  But,  aside  from  the  natural 
attraction  of  the  trade  for  girls  of  taste  and  ability,  many  girls 
of  better  education  than  the  average  “working  girl”  feel  they 
do  not  lose  caste,  but  may  obtain  even  better  social  position 
by  entering  millinery.  Over  62  per  cent.  (65)  of  the  total 
number  (104)  of  Boston  workers  reporting  as  to  education 
graduated  from  the  grammar  school,  39  per  cent.  (43)  of  the 
total  number  of  109  Philadelphia  workers.  (See  Table  46.) 
The  Boston  Trade  School  workers  increase  the  Boston  percen¬ 
tage,  27  of  them  having  graduated  from  the  grammar  school. 
This  number  forms  almost  75  per  cent,  of  the  40  Trade  School 
makers  visited  and  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  Boston 
workers  who  had  graduated  from  grammar  school  but  not  from 
high  school.  Only  2  Philadelphia  workers  graduated  from  high 
school  as  compared  with  9  Boston  workers. 

A  study  of  the  ages  at  which  millinery  workers  of  both 
cities  left  school,  as  seen  in  Table  47,  shows  that  the  majority 
did  not  withdraw  at  the  termination  of  the  compulsory  school 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 


99 


age.  In  Boston  only  88  reported,  but  50  per  cent,  of  them 
(44)  were  16  years  of  age  or  older,  as  opposed  to  28  per  cent. 
(32)  in  Philadelphia,  and  70  per  cent.  (62)  in  Boston  were  15 
years  and  over  as  opposed  to  54  per  cent.  (62)  in  Philadelphia. 
A  few  of  the  Philadelphia  workers  “had  to  go  to  work”  for 
such  reasons  as  “to  help  educate  an  older  brother,”  or  “to  help 
a  brother  pay  for  his  home.”  The  majority  of  workers  left 
school  because  they  were  “tired  of  it,”  or  because  of  some  diffi¬ 
culty  with  their  teachers.  Those  who  had  finished  the  gram- 

TABLE  46,  SHOWING  EDUCATION  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA 
WORKERS.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  of  Workers  with  Specified 
Schooling 


Schooling 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

BOSTON  TRADE 
SCHOOL  TRAINING 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Graduate  of  high 
school  .... 

9 

8.7 

2 

1.8 

1 

Partial  course  in  high 
school  .... 

21 

20.2 

14 

12.8 

10 

25.6 

Graduate  of  grammar 
school  .... 

35 

33.6 

27 

24.8 

17 

43.6 

Partial  course  in 
grammar  school 

39 

37.5 

66 

60.6 

12 

30.8 

Total . 

104 

100.0 

109 

100.0 

39 

100.0 

1  Including  Boston  Trade  School  workers,  36  Boston  and  12  Philadelphia 
workers  did  not  report. 


mar  grades  usually  considered  the  fact  that  they  had  “grad¬ 
uated”  sufficient  reason.  When  questioned  as  to  why  they  had 
not  continued  in  high  school  they  answered  that  they  “didn’t 
want  to  be  a  teacher.”  A  few  left  because  of  illness.  But  the 
motive  of  the  29  per  cent,  who  claimed  they  “had  to  go  to 
work”  could  hardly  have  been  economic  pressure  for  millinery 
does  not  offer  immediate  pecuniary  returns.  Had  the  primary 
motive  for  leaving  school  been  economic  necessity,  these  work¬ 
ers  would  have  found  difficulty  in  weathering  the  long  period 
of  apprenticeship.  The  majority  of  the  millinery  workers  en* 
tered  the  trade  because  of  a  natural  liking  for  it.  A  few  drifted 


100 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


into  it  from  other  motives — some  because  they  thought  it  would 
be  easy,  refined  work,  others  because  their  families  had  chosen 
the  trade  for  them,  and  still  others  because  of  the  social  prestige 
accorded  to  milliners. 

In  most  instances,  considerable  time  intervened  between  leav¬ 
ing  school  and  beginning  work.1  A  few  of  the  workers  were 
employed  in  other  occupations  during  this  period,  but  most  of 
them  entered  millinery  without  any  previous  industrial  experi- 

t 

TABLE  47,  SHOWING  AGE  AT  WHICH  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA 
WORKERS  LEAVE  SCHOOL.  BASED  ON  REPORTS 
FROM  WORKERS.1 


Workers  Leaving  School  at  Specified  Age 


Age  at  leaving  school 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Under  14  years  . 

6 

6.8 

15 

13.0 

14  years . 

20 

22.7 

38 

33.1 

15  years  . 

18 

20.5 

30 

26.1 

16  years . 

26 

29.5 

15 

13.0 

17  years . 

10 

11.4 

6 

5.2 

18  years  . 

5 

5.7 

10 

8.7 

Over  18  years  .... 

3 

3.4 

1 

.9 

Total  . . 

88 

100.0 

115 

100.0 

1  Fifty-two  Boston  and  6  Philadelphia  workers  did  not  report. 


ence.  About  83  per  cent.  (81)  of  the  total  number  (98)  of 
Boston  workers  reporting  had  not  been  engaged  in  any  previous 
occupations,  and  almost  75  per  cent.  (90)  of  the  total  number 
of  Philadelphia  workers.  Most  of  those  who  had  been  other¬ 
wise  occupied  were  employed  in  only  one  trade,  showing  very 
little  shifting  from  trade  to  trade.  But  1  worker  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  and  3  in  Boston  reported  employment  in  three  or  more 
trades  before  entering  millinery.  One  Philadelphia  worker 
during  a  short  period  of  six  months  shifted  from  one  to  another 
of  5  different  factories  and  then  into  millinery.  An  enumera¬ 
tion  of  the  trades  in  which  the  workers  were  engaged  before 
millinery  shows  that  for  the  most  part  the  work  was  unskilled. 

i  Compare  Table  47  with  Table  53,  Chapter  VI. 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 


101 


Dressmaking  was  the  only  oecupation  reported  at  all  allied  to 
millinery.1 

The  majority  of  workers  do  not  receive  a  living  wage,  and 
this  wage  must  be  supplemented  from  other  sources.  The  chief 
source  of  subsidy  is  found  in  the  requirement  of  employers 
that  their  workers  live  at  home.  The  worker  may  receive  suf¬ 
ficient  wages  to  maintain  herself  while  at  work,  and  even  to 
contribute  something  to  the  family  budget,  but  in  the  event 
of  unemployment  or  illness,  she  is  compelled  to  rely  upon  her 
family  or  friends  for  assistance.  Unemployment  is  a  vital  ques¬ 
tion  for  all  but  the  trimmer,  who  averages  a  living  wage  through¬ 
out  the  year.  If  the  maker  is  unable  or  unwilling  to  obtain 
secondary  employment,  her  wages  must  be  subsidized  either 
by  her  family  or  from  other  sources.  Employers  often  attempt 
to  gloss  over  the  low  wages  and  short  seasons  of  the  trade 
by  explaining  that  their  employees  are  working  for  “pin 
money 1  ’  only.  Interviews  with  workers  did  not  verify  this 
statement.  According  to  Table  48,  about  55  per  cent.  (66)  of 
the  total  number  (121)  of  Boston  workers  reporting  and  about 
64  per  cent.  (77)  of  the  Philadelphia  workers  were  either 
wholly  or  partially  dependent  upon  their  earnings  for  support. 
A  larger  proportion  of  self-supporting  workers  was  naturally 
found  among  trimmers  than  among  makers.  About  28  per 
cent.  (8)  of  the  29  Boston  trimmers  reporting,  as  contrasted 
with  about  10  per  cent.  (9)  of  the  92  makers  reporting,  and  25 
per  cent.  (8)  of  the  Philadelphia  trimmers,  as  contrasted  with 


i  Occupations  preceding  millinery  reported  by  Boston  and  Philadelphia 


workers. 

By  15  Boston  Workers 


Salesgirl . 6 

Dressmaking . 1 

Cash  girl . 3 

Machine  operating  ...  4 

Teaching . 1 

Office  work . 3 

Factory — 

(Lamp,  net  and  twine)  .  2 

Mill  inspector . 1 

Companion . 1 


By  23  Philadelphia  Workers 

Salesgirl . 4 

Dressmaking  .....  3 

Cash  girl . 1 

Office  work . 2 

Feathers — 

(Willow  plumes  and  feather 

curling) . 3 

Factory — 

( Cigar,  shirtwaist,  vest, 
candy,  suspenders,  tape 
works,  paper  boxes,  wool¬ 
en  mill,  lamp  shades)  .  11 

Not  reporting . 2 


102 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


05 


a 

o 

-4-> 

tn 

O 

PQ 


bo 

a 


o 

P. 

a> 

u 

"o 

c 


55 


H 


MILLINERY  WORKERS 


103 


21  per  cent.  (19)  of  the  makers,  claimed  to  be  self-supporting. 
The  workers  claiming  to  be  partially  self-supporting  were  those 
who  lived  with  their  own  families  or  with  relatives.  Some  paid 
board  to  the  family  when  working,  but  whenever  an  emergency 
arose  or  they  were  unemployed,  they  relied  upon  their  family  or 
relatives  for  aid.  One  Boston  worker  expressed  the  situation 
as  follows:  “We  all  live  together.  I  pay  board  when  I  am 
working.  When  I’m  not  working,  the  others  pay  board.” 

The  majority  of  millinery  workers  in  both  cities  lived  with 
their  parents  or  with  relatives  as  shown  by  Table  49,  83  per 
cent.  (105)  of  the  total  number  (126)  reporting  in  Boston  and 
84  per  cent.  (100)  of  the  119  Philadelphia  workers  reporting. 
Only  16  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  Boston  and  Philadel¬ 
phia  workers  reporting  on  home  conditions  could  be  said  to  be 
living  independently.  A  larger  percentage  of  trimmers  were 
adrift  than  of  makers — about  35  per  cent.  (10)  of  the  29  Bos¬ 
ton  trimmers  reporting,  and  22  per  cent.  (7)  of  the  32  Philadel¬ 
phia  trimmers.  Only  12  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  mak¬ 
ers  reporting  in  each  city  lived  independently,  and  none  of 
the  trade  school  girls  were  included  in  this  number. 

TABLE  49,  SHOWING  LIVING  CONDITIONS  OF  BOSTON  AND  PHILA¬ 
DELPHIA  WORKERS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATION.  BASED 
ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS.1 


Number  of  Workers  Living  as  Specified 


Living 

Conditions 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Mak¬ 

ers 

Trim¬ 

mers 

Total 

Trim¬ 

mers 

Total 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

Makers 

Num¬ 

ber 

Per 

Cent. 

With  par¬ 
ents 

82 

17 

99 

78.6 

68 

19 

87 

73.1 

With  other 
relatives 

4 

2 

6 

4.8 

7 

6 

13 

10.9 

Boarding 
and  lodg¬ 
ing  .  . 

6 

5 

11 

8.7 

2 

2 

1.7 

Boarding  in 
working 
girls’ 
homes  . 

2 

2 

4 

3.2 

10 

3 

13 

10.9 

Keeping 

house 

3 

3 

6 

4.7 

— 

4 

4 

3.4 

Total  . 

97 

29 

126 

100.0 

87 

32 

119 

100.0 

i  Number  not  reporting,  in  Boston,  14;  in  Philadelphia,  2. 


104 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


To  sum  up,  the  majority  of  millinery  workers  are  Americans 
or  Irish-Americans  with  American  standards  as  expressed  in 
their  education  and  in  the  ages  at  which  they  go  to  work,  while 
only  a  small  percentage  are  foreign.  Although  the  chief  motive 
of  the  workers  in  entering  the  millinery  trade  was  not  the  need 
for  immediate  economic  independence,  yet  many  did  choose  the 
trade  because  of  a  feeling  that  they  ‘‘had  to  go  to  work. ” 
Most  of  the  workers  lived  with  their  families  or  with  relatives, 
and  the  seasonal  nature  of  the  trade  demands  that  their  wages 
be  so  subsidized.  Though  not  entirely  dependent  upon  their 
own  efforts  for  their  livelihood,  the  majority  of  the  workers 
felt  that  they  ought  to  contribute  something  to  their  own  sup¬ 
port.  With  comparatively  high  family  standards,  it  is  not  sur¬ 
prising  that  the  millinery  workers  should  turn  from  factory 
work  and  enter  a  trade  where  they  do  not  lose  social  caste,  and 
may  even  advance  their  own  social  position.  Many  doubtless 
regard  this  social  prestige  as  an  adequate  supplement  to  the 
inferior  wages  they  receive,  but  the  large  number  of  such  work¬ 
ers  is  one  element  tending  to  lower  the  wages  of  millinery 
workers,  and  exerts  almost  as  strong  an  influence  as  trade 
conditions  themselves.  There  is  no  adequate  reason  why  workers 
with  more  than  the  average  education,  with  sufficient  means 
to  enable  them  to  spend  one  year  in  acquiring  a  trade  should 
be  willing  to  work  for  wages  that  do  not  insure  a  decent 
standard  of  living  unless  supplemented  from  other  sources.  To 
bring  about  any  permanent  cure  for  the  low  wages  of  millinery, 
not  only  the  present  unregulated,  unorganized  condition  of  the 
trade,  but  also  the  attitude  of  the  workers  toward  industry  in 
general  must  be  changed. 


CHAPTER  VII 

WAYS  OF  LEARNING  MILLINERY 

SECTION  I 

The  Apprenticeship  System 

Apprenticeship  is  gradually  disappearing  from  most  trades 
chiefly  because  of  the  increased  use  of  machinery  and  the  con¬ 
sequent  minute  subdivision  of  labor.  There  are  two  reasons 
for  the  persistence  of  the  system  in  the  millinery  trade,  (1) 
the  unchanged  form  of  the  tools  of  production,  (2)  the  fact 
that  the  processes  of  the  trade  are  not  susceptible  of  a  minute 
subdivision  of  labor.  The  character  of  apprenticeship  has,  how¬ 
ever,  appreciably  degenerated.  The  girl  wishing  to  learn  the 
trade  makes  arrangements  with  some  milliner  by  which  she 
agrees  to  give  her  time  for  one  or  two  seasons  as  determined 
by  her  initiative  and  ability.  In  return  for  the  work  she  may 
accomplish  she  is  to  receive  instruction  in  the  arts  and  proc¬ 
esses  of  millinery.  Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  employer’s  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  the  girl’s  moral  and  physical  welfare,  nothing 
about  further  school  training.  No  indenture  papers  are  made 
out  and  no  means  are  provided  of  holding  either  the  employer 
or  the  apprentice  to  the  terms  of  the  agreement. 

Although  both  employers  and  employees  recommend  only  the 
apprenticeship  method  of  learning  the  trade,  yet  the  growing 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  employers  to  train  their  own  ap¬ 
prentices  points  to  a  still  further  degeneration  of  this  traditional 
system.  Employers  object  to  apprentices  (1)  because  they  use 
the  time  of  valuable  workers  in  teaching,  (2)  because  they 
waste  costly  material  and  (3)  because  often  by  the  time  the 
learner  has  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  and  skill  to  repay  the 
time  and  effort  expended  in  teaching  her,  she  demands  wages. 
This  reluctance  in  accepting  beginners  is  more  generally  shown 


106 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


in  Boston  than  in  Philadelphia.  Fifty  Boston  shops  and  29 
Philadelphia  shops  were  visited  in  which  no  learners  were  em¬ 
ployed.  But  girls  who  enter  the  trade  must  be  trained  and  the 
opportunity  for  training  afforded  by  the  Boston  Trade  School 
for  Girls  probably  constitutes  the  reason  for  the  large  number 
of  Boston  employers  who  refused  apprentices.  No  such  sub¬ 
stitute  has  been  offered  in  Philadelphia,  so  that  milliners  must 
continue  to  train  their  own  workers. 

TABLE  50,  SHOWING  WAYS  IN  WHICH  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA 
WORKERS  LEARNED  MILLINERY.  BASED  ON  REPORTS 

FROM  WORKERS.1 


Workers  Learning  the  Trade  as  Specified 


Method  of  Learning 
the  Trade 

IN  BOSTON  2 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Apprenticeship 

89 

58.6 

113 

93.4 

Trade  School  .... 

42 

27.6 

— 

— 

“Picked  it  up”  .  .  . 

10 

6.6 

3 

2.5 

Other  ways,  colleges,  etc. 

11 

7.2 

5 

4.1 

Total . 

152 

100.0 

121 

100.0 

1  Number  not  reporting  in  Boston,  9. 

2  The  apprenticeship  statistics  for  Boston  are  based  on  experience  of 
workers  and  21  women  who  were  in  business  for  themselves. 


The  majority  of  workers  in  both  cities  obtained  their  training 
as  apprentices  as  shown  in  Table  50.  In  Boston  over  58  per 
cent.  (89)  of  the  152  workers  reporting,  in  Philadelphia  93 
per  cent.  (113)  of  the  121  workers  visited  learned  the  trade  as 
apprentices.  In  Boston  about  27  per  cent.  (42)  of  the  total 
number  reporting  received  their  trade  education  at  the  Boston 
Trade  School  for  Girls,  about  7  per  cent.  (11)  learned  in  other 
ways,  and  over  6  per  cent.  (10)  stated  that  they  “just  knew 
how.”  Over  2  per  cent.  (3)  of  the  Philadelphia  workers 
claimed  that  they  “picked  it  up”  and  4  per  cent.  (5)  learned  in 
various  other  ways.  In  Boston,  of  the  11  workers  learning 
millinery  otherwise  than  as  apprentices  or  at  the  Trade  School, 
2  learned  the  trade  in  public  schools  in  Russia,  1  in  an  industrial 
school  in  Germany,  1  at  a  branch  of  the  Young  Women’s  Chris¬ 
tian  Association,  4  in  private  classes  conducted  by  milliners,  1 


WAYS  OF  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 


107 


in  a  Boston  public  evening  school,  and  2  at  subsidized  evening 
schools.  In  Philadelphia,  2  learned  at  the  Drexel  Institute,  1 
at  the  Wanamaker  Institute,  1  at  a  Philadelphia  evening  high 
school,  and  1  in  a  private  class  conducted  by  a  Philadelphia 
milliner.  Fees  were  usually  paid  for  instruction  by  these 
workers.  The  Boston  worker  who  had  acquired  her  trade  in 
a  German  industrial  school  and  the  one  who  had  learned  it  at 
the  Young  Women’s  Christian  Association  paid  small  sums,  and 
the  4  girls  who  received  instruction  in  private  classes  paid  sums 
varying  in  amount  from  $15  to  $25.  In  Philadelphia,  all  except 
the  girl  who  learned  at  an  evening  school  paid  fees  varying  from 
$12  to  $60.  From  these  figures  it  is  seen  that  a  system  of  ap¬ 
prenticeship  is  the  chief  method  of  learning  the  millinery  trade, 
and  that  other  methods,  except  the  trade  school  method,  may  be 
dismissed  with  a  word. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  apprenticeship  system  as  it  now 
exists  is  the  danger  of  exploitation  to  which  the  beginner  is 
often  exposed.  The  younger  girl  may  not  realize  what  she 
should  be  taught  nor  to  what  extent  the  running  of  errands 
is  necessary  to  a  proper  knowledge  and  practice  of  the  trade. 
However,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  errand  girl  does  learn 
something  of  the  matching  of  colors,  of  materials  and  of  the 
terms  used  in  millinery.  The  older  apprentice  with  a  better 
idea  of  her  rights  and  ability  to  give  expression  to  them  is  not 
often  exposed  to  the  evil  of  exploitation. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  danger  to  which  the  younger  girl  is 
exposed.  Often  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the  workroom  is  not 
desirable.  The  work  is  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  demand  the 
entire  attention  of  the  worker,  and  the  opportunities  for  con¬ 
versation,  except  in  the  height  of  the  rush  season,  are  many. 
The  older  worker  has  had  sufficient  experience  to  be  able  to  dis¬ 
criminate  between  the  true  and  the  false,  and  to  have  formed 
her  moral  concepts ;  but  the  younger  worker  may  be  injuriously 
affected  by  this  atmosphere  and  should  not  be  exposed  to  it  until 
she  has  developed  sufficient  moral  stamina  to  resist  it. 

Care  should  be  exercised  by  the  apprentice  in  the  selection 
of  the  place  to  learn  her  trade.  She  should  enter  a  shop  where 
she  will  be  taught  all  parts  of  the  work.  Once  she  has  thor- 


108 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


oughly  learned  the  fundamentals,  a  girl  of  ordinary  ability 
should  be  able  to  adapt  herself  to  the  work  in  any  grade  of  shop. 
Emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the  making  of  frames.  The 
better  class  shops  lay  stress  upon  handmade  frames  and  the 
maker  who  has  not  learned  this  essential  is  seriously  handi¬ 
capped  in  any  effort  to  enter  a  high  grade  custom  shop. 

Millinery  is  taught  best  in  the  smaller  millinery  parlors  and 
stores.  The  force  is  small,  the  workroom  is  usually  close  to 
the  display  room,  and  there  is  less  likelihood  of  the  young  girl 
being  used  as  a  go-between  for  the  workroom  and  the  display 
room.  She  is  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  employer  who, 
if  she  teaches  the  trade,  teaches  it  well.  She  may  be  used  as 
a  general  utility  girl,  to  run  errands,  perhaps  sweep  and  dust, 
but  in  smaller  places  the  work  of  an  apprentice  is  of  economic 
value,  and  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  employer  to  train  this 
cheaper  labor,  to  supplement  the  more  expensive.  Often  the 
apprentice  is  one  of  the  workers  retained  during  the  dull  sea¬ 
son  to  do  much  of  the  simpler  work,  such  as  preparing  trim¬ 
mings,  hemming  velvets,  lining  hats,  making  bands,  while  the 
employer  performs  the  more  expert  processes.  The  apprentice 
in  a  small  shop  may  lack  the  wide  knowledge  gained  by  ex¬ 
perience  in  a  large  establishment,  but  after  learning  the  funda¬ 
mentals  of  the  trade,  she  may  add  the  wider  experience.  An 
apprentice  often  finds  it  advisable  to  leave  the  shop  in  which 
she  served  her  apprenticeship  in  order  to  gain  experience  in 
many  workrooms. 

The  apprentice  is  usually  found  in  the  millinery  parlor  and  in 
the  millinery  store,  occasionally  in  the  department  store,  more 
often  in  the  high  class  furnishing  store,  but  never,  in  the 
exact  sense  of  the  word,  in  wholesale  millinery.  In  some  of 
the  most  fashionable  shops  apprentices  are  really  an  economy 
and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  they  sometimes  constitute 
about  one-third  of  the  whole  force.  The  department  stores 
prefer  to  hire  errand  girls  who  can  pick  up  the  trade  if  they 
find  time  and  opportunity.  In  wholesale  millinery  where  speed 
is  essential,  only  experienced  workers  are  wanted.  Further¬ 
more,  pieceworkers  object  to  losing  valuable  time  in  teaching 
learners.  Factory  work,  however,  is  readily  learned,  and  the  ap- 


WAYS  OF  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 


109 


prentice  is  usually  put  upon  piecework  at  once  and  “gets  what 
she  earns.” 

Table  51  presents  a  summary  of  the  employment  of  appren¬ 
tices  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia  establishments.  One  hundred 
and  eighty-four  apprentices,  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  total  num¬ 
ber  of  workers,  were  employed  in  the  Boston  establishments 
visited.  Fifty  of  the  97  establishments  reporting  did  not  take 
any  apprentices  during  the  season  in  which  this  study  was 
made,  although  only  25  made  it  a  practice  not  to  employ  appren¬ 
tices.  The  discrepancy  between  the  number  of  apprentices  ac¬ 
tually  employed  and  the  number  usually  employed  may  have 
been  partly  due  to  the  comparatively  simple  style  of  hats  for 
the  season,  requiring  but  little  work.  In  Boston  the  largest 
number  of  apprentices  (101)  was  found  in  the  workrooms  of 
the  millinery  stores.  Department  stores  ranked  second  with  64 
apprentices.  The  Philadelphia  workrooms  visited  during  the 
year  1910-11  employed  262  apprentices,  almost  13  per  cent, 
of  the  total  number  of  workers  and  about  3  per  cent,  more  than 
were  reported  by  the  Boston  establishments.  Only  29  of  the 
Philadelphia  firms  reporting,  as  compared  with  50  in  Boston, 
took  no  apprentices  during  the  season  in  which  this  study  was 
made.  The  largest  number  of  apprentices  (113)  was  found 
in  the  workrooms  of  the  millinery  stores,  as  in  Boston,  and  the 
department  stores  ranked  second  with  89  learners.  The  whole¬ 
sale  manufacturing  milliners  employed  45. 

The  qualifications  demanded  of  apprentices  are  high.  Em¬ 
ployers,  as  a  rule,  say  that  they  wish  a  bright  girl  who  can  sew, 
who  has  a  taste  for  millinery  and  who  comes  from  a  good  home. 
Only  5  Boston  employers  specified  any  educational  requirement, 
2  desiring  grammar  school  graduates  and  3,  girls  with  some  high 
school  work.  Only  a  few  had  any  opinion  for  or  against  any 
nationality,  10  preferring  Americans,  2,  foreigners,  while  1 
wished  no  Americans,  another  no  Irish,  and  still  another  no 
Jews.  Two  preferred  Protestants.  In  Philadelphia  no  em¬ 
ployer  laid  down  any  educational  qualifications  and,  as  in  Bos¬ 
ton,  only  a  few  expressed  any  preference  as  to  nationality, 
Fifteen  employers  preferred  Americans,  1,  a  German,  wished 
Germans,  another,  colored,  employed  only  colored  girls,  5  re¬ 
fused  Jews  and  1,  Italians. 


110 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


TABLE  51,  SHOWING  EMPLOYMENT  OF  APPRENTICES  IN  BOSTON  AND  PHILADELPHIA. 

BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  EMPLOYERS.1 


IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

Type  of 
Establishment 

Number 

of 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Usually 

Em¬ 

ployed 

Number 

of 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Actually 

Em¬ 

ployed 

Number 

of 

Shops 

Actually 

Em¬ 

ploying 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Number 

of 

Shops 

Em¬ 

ploying 

no 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Number 

of 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Usually 

Em¬ 

ployed 

Number 

of 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Actually 

Em¬ 

ployed 

Number 

of 

Shops 

Actually 

Em¬ 

ploying 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Number 

of 

Shops 

Em¬ 

ploying 

no 

Appren¬ 

tices 

Manufacturing 

millinery 

/ 

45 

45 

2 

0 

Wholesale 

6 

— 

— 

9 

— 

— 

— 

3 

Department 

store 

64 

40 

8 

11 

89 

95 

10 

2 

Millinery  store 

101 

65 

18 

14 

113 

102 

45 

18 

Parlor  . 

38 

33 

21 

16 

5 

6 

3 

2 

Private 

— 

— 

— 

— 

10 

14 

8 

4 

Total 

209 

138 

47 

50 

262 

262 

68 

29 

i  Number  not  reporting,  in  Boston,  6;  in  Philadelphia,  7. 


TABLE  52,  SHOWING  AGE  AT  WHICH  111  BOSTON  AND  115  PHILADELPHIA  WORKERS 
BEGAN  MILLINERY.1  CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO  METHODS  OF  ENTERING  THE 
TRADE.  BASED  ON  REPORTS  FROM  WORKERS. 


Number  of  Workers  Beginning  Trade  at  Specified  Age 


Age  of 
Beginning 
Millinery 

IN  BOSTON 

IN  PHILADELPHIA 

As  Ap¬ 
prentice 

From 

Trade 

School 

Various 

Ways 

No  Ap¬ 
prentice¬ 
ship 

Total 

As  Ap¬ 
prentice 

From 

Wana- 

maker 

and 

Drexel 

Insti¬ 

tutes 

Various 

Ways 

No  Ap¬ 
prentice¬ 
ship 

Total 

12  years  . 

— 

— 

1  _ 

— 

— 

2 

— 

1  , 

— 

2 

13  years  . 

1 

2 

— 

— 

3 

1 

— 

— 

— 

1 

14  years  . 

12 

13 

— 

1 

26 

22 

— 

— 

— 

22 

15  years  . 

10 

14 

2 

1 

27 

21 

— 

1 

— 

22 

16  years  . 

11 

8 

1 

2 

22 

19 

1 

— 

— 

20 

17  years  . 

10 

2 

— 

— 

12 

14 

— 

— 

— 

14 

18  years  . 

5 

3 

— 

— 

8 

13 

— 

1 

— 

14 

19  years  . 

1 

— 

— 

— 

1 

5 

— 

— 

— 

5 

20  years  . 

4 

— 

— 

— 

4 

4 

— 

— 

1 

5 

21  years  . 

7 

— 

1 

i 

8 

8 

1 

— 

1  I 

.  10 

Total  . 

61 

42 

4 

4 

111 

109 

2 

2 

2 

115 

i  Number  not  reporting,  Boston,  50;  Philadelphia,  6. 


WAYS  OF  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 


111 


i  Three  wholesale  houses,  included  in  the  total  for  Philadelphia,  did  not  employ  apprentices. 


112 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


According  to  Table  53,  over  37  per  cent.  (38)  of  the  Boston 
employers  interviewed  considered  16  years  or  under  as  the  best 
age  at  which  girls  should  begin  their  millinery  training,  while 
over  56  per  cent.  (59)  of  the  Philadelphia  milliners  preferred 
girls  of  16  years  or  under.  Over  28  per  cent.  (29)  of  Boston 
milliners  and  19  per  cent.  (20)  of  Philadelphia  employers  inter¬ 
viewed  thought  that  girls  should  begin  millinery  at  the  age  of 
16,  while  over  57  per  cent.  (59)  of  Boston  milliners  and  only  22 
per  cent.  (23)  of  Philadelphia  employers  placed  16  years  as  the 
minimum  age.  Only  8  per  cent.  (9)  of  Boston  firms  as  con¬ 
trasted  with  over  37  per  cent.  (39)  of  the  Philadelphia  milliners 
thought  the  girl  from  14  do  15  years  of  age  sufficiently  mature 
to  learn  the  trade.  These  numbers  become  more  significant 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  compulsory  school  age  in  both 
Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania  is  placed  at  14  years.1  Unless 
she  is  exceptionally  persistent  and  able,  the  girl  of  14  or  15 
will  experience  some  difficulty  in  finding  an  opportunity  to  learn 
the  trade  under  the  apprenticeship  system,  and  the  trade  school 
seems  to  be  the  logical  place  for  such  a  girl.  However,  there 
seems  to  be  a  contradiction,  for  Table  52  shows  that  the  largest 
number  in  each  city  began  millinery  at  the  age  of  16  or  under. 
This  apparent  discrepancy  may  be  due  to  the  larger  number 
of  trade  school  girls  in  Boston  and  the  attitude  of  employers 
in  Philadelphia.  Furthermore,  many  of  the  present  employees 
began  work  in  years  when  the  apprenticeship  system  was  more 
highly  developed  and  more  generally  practiced. 

Employers  of  both  cities  are  nearly  unanimous  as  to  the  length 
of  time  necessary  for  apprenticeships.  The  majority  (62  of  the 
67  Boston  firms  reporting,  65  of  the  68  Philadelphia  firms  report¬ 
ing)'  expressed  the  opinion  that  two  seasons — spring  and  fall — 
was  the  minimum  time  in  which  a  girl  of  average  ability  could 
expect  to  learn  the  fundamentals  of  the  trade.  The  apprentice 
must  be  able  to  handle  both  summer  and  winter  materials,  which 

i  Since  the  above  statement  was  written,  Massachusetts  has  introduced 
a  law  which  will  tend  more  strenuously  to  prevent  girls  under  16  entering 
the  trade.  This  law  permits  any  city  or  town  to  require  at  least  4  hours 
schooling  per  week  during  working  hours.  Pennsylvania  on  the  other 
hand  has  just  passed  a  law  by  which  employment  of  children  between  14 
and  16  years  of  age  is  limited  to  51  hours  per  week  of  which  8  hours  must 
be  devoted  to  vocational  instruction. 

i 


WAYS  OF  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 


113 


are  dissimilar  and  require  different  treatment.  The  experience 
of  the  workers  who  acquired  their  trade  as  apprentices  con¬ 
firms  the  opinion  of  the  employers  in  favor  of  two  seasons. 
Although  the  proportion  of  employers  is  somewhat  larger,  this 
doubtless  is  due  to  the  inexact  use  of  terms.  Employers  fre¬ 
quently  consider  a  girl  an  apprentice  who  has  begun  to  earn  a 
small  wage,  but  the  worker  may  not  so  consider  herself.  In 
Boston,  46  out  of  83  reporting,  and  in  Philadelphia,  88  out  of 
109  reporting,  spent  2  seasons  or  longer  in  learning  millinery. 

A  study  of  the  wages  received  as  learners  by  the  89  Boston 
workers  who  served  apprenticeships  as  presented  in  Table  54 
shows  that  81  per  cent.  (71)  of  them  gave  their  time,  the  rest 
earning  from  $1  to  $5  per  week.  In  Philadelphia  only  40  per 
cent.  (45)  of  the  workers  who  learned  the  trade  as  apprentices 
gave  their  time,  the  others  often  receiving  as  much  as  $4  a 
week.  If  apprentices  are  paid  at  all,  they  are  rarely  paid  less 
than  $1  per  week,  which  is  supposed  to  cover  carfare  and 
lunches.  The  majority  of  girls  who  receive  more  than  $1  or 
$1.50  per  week  were  errand  girls  who  were  allowed  to  employ 
the  time  between  errands  in  learning  the  trade.  It  is  the  con¬ 
sensus  of  opinion  of  both  employers  and  employees  that  the 
method  of  learning  millinery  while  doing  errands,  or  the  paid 
apprenticeship  system,  is  less  satisfactory  than  the  method  of 
“giving  time.” 

Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  economic  waste  through  the  present 
millinery  apprenticeship  system  may  be  found  in  the  statements 
of  employers.  In  both  Boston  and  Philadelphia  57  employers 
gave  estimates  of  the  percentage  of  apprentices  who  were  not 
successful.  The  majority  in  both  cities  acknowledged  that  the 
greater  number  never  became  expert  workers,  only  4  firms  in 
Boston  and  3  in  Philadelphia  claiming  that  the  beginners  whom 
they  had  trained  were  universally  successful.  Only  about  a 
third  in  Boston  and  a  fourth  in  Philadelphia  estimated  that 
more  than  half  of  their  apprentices  were  successful.  This 
economic  waste  may  be  accounted  for  in  two  ways.  The  appren¬ 
ticeship  system  tests  the  workers,  and  the  majority  of  the  girls 
who  do  not  possess  requisite  ability  drop  out  at  this  stage. 
Perhaps  the  chief  reason  is  the  impatience  of  the  learner  to 


TABLE  54,  SHOWING  WAGES  RECEIVED  AS  APPRENTICES  AT  SPECIFIED  AGES  BY  BOSTON 


114 


MILLINERY  AS  A  TRADE  FOR  WOMEN 


1 


Not  reporting  as  to  wage  in  Boston,  2;  in  Philadelphia, 


WAYS  OF  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 


115 


secure  wages.  The  employer  is  forced  to  put  her  on  such  work 
as  running  errands,  sweeping  and  dusting,  which  will  justify 
the  payment  of  a  small  weekly  wage.  The  girl  who  does  not 
advance  so  rapidly  in  the  trade  as  she  had  expected,  becomes 
discouraged  and  enters  some  other  industry  in  which  returns 
are  more  immediate. 

On  the  whole,  the  apprenticeship  system  does  not  seem  to  be 
satisfactory.  Some  other  more  efficient  method  of  training 
millinery  workers  should  be  found.  For  the  older  worker,  prob¬ 
ably  the  workroom  is  the  best  place  to  learn  the  trade.  She  is 
protected  against  the  evil  of  exploitation,  and  she  can  learn  more 
rapidly  and  advance  more  quickly.  For  the  young  girl  of  14 
to  16,  or  even  18  years,  the  trade  school  or  some  place  equally 
removed  from  the  exigencies  of  the  trade  affords  a  surer  road  to 
success. 


INDEX 


Absence  from  Employment,  see 
Docking. 

Advancement,  opportunity  for,  23, 
26. 

Age  of  Workers,  95-99 ;  age  at 
leaving  school,  98-100;  at  en¬ 
tering  trade,  112. 

Americans,  as  millinery  workers, 
93-95,  97,  104. 

Artistic  Division,  proportion  of 
workers  in,  26. 

Apprentices,  learning  the  trade, 
19-20;  number  employed  during 
busy  season,  Boston,  24;  Phila¬ 
delphia,  25;  extent  of  employ¬ 
ment  during  year,  53;  wages, 
70-71,  113-114;  statistics  of 
employment,  1 09- 110;  quali¬ 
fications  demanded,  109;  age 
preferred,  110-112;  length  of 
training,  112-113. 

Apprenticeship  System,  105-115; 
reasons  for  persistence  in  milli¬ 
nery  trade,  105;  objections  of 
employers,  105-106;  proportion 
of  workers  so  trained,  106; 
dangers,  107 ;  best  type  of  es¬ 
tablishment  for,  107-108;  eco¬ 
nomic  waste  involved,  113,  115. 

Average  Weekly  Wage,  definition, 
70;  see  also  Wages. 

Bargain  Sales,  as  means  of  pro¬ 
longing  season,  66. 

Busy  Season,  extent  of  employment 
in  Boston,  24 ;  Philadelphia, 
25;  workroom  force,  Boston 
and  Philadelphia  establish¬ 


ments,  47 ;  problems  connected 
with,  59,  62. 

Buyer,  function  in  department 
store,  38. 

Centers  of  Trade,  8. 

Children,  legislation  as  to  hours  of 
labor,  3-4;  statistics  of  em¬ 
ployment,  5,  7. 

Competition,  among  millinery 
stores,  34-35;  department 
stores,  38-39. 

Contracts,  type  of  workers  having, 
26. 

Copyist,  work,  19,  21;  number  em¬ 
ployed  during  busy  season,  24. 

Credit,  problem  in  private  millinery 
trade,  32. 

Customers,  responsibility  for  over¬ 
time  work,  63-64 ;  education 
of,  64,  68. 

Department  Store,  number  of  mil¬ 
linery  workers,  Boston,  24; 
Philadelphia,  25;  millinery  de¬ 
partment,  37-40;  characteris¬ 
tics,  37 ;  kinds  of  work,  38 ; 
capital  required,  38 ;  competi¬ 
tion  with  other  establishments, 

38- 39;  size  of  workroom  force, 

39- 40 ;  in  dull  and  busy  sea¬ 

sons,  47 ;  fluctuations  in  size,  48 ; 
weekly  fluctuation,  50,  52 ; 

length  of  employment,  Boston, 
54 ;  Philadelphia,  55 ;  employ¬ 
ment  by  weeks,  Boston,  56;  by 
months,  57 ;  wages  of  appren¬ 
tices,  71;  annual  earnings  of 


118 


INDEX 


workers,  72;  nominal  weekly 
wage,  Boston,  74;  Philadelphia, 
75;  average  wage,  Boston,  77; 
nominal  wage  of  trimmers,  82; 
average  wage,  84,  87. 

Designers,  work,  18-19,  21-22; 

proportion  among  workers,  23; 
number  employed  during  busy 
season,  Boston,  24 ;  Philadel¬ 
phia,  25;  wages,  85. 

Docking,  for  absence,  76,  92. 

Dressmaking,  combination  of  with 
millinery,  65,  67. 

Dull  Season,  working  force,  46; 
Boston  and  Philadelphia  estab¬ 
lishments,  47 ;  rate  of  reduction 
of  workroom  force,  49 ;  prob¬ 
lems  connected  with,  59,  62 ; 
secondary  occupations  for,  65- 
68.  See  also  Seasons. 

Earnings,  see  Wages. 

Easter  Season,  overtime  work,  63. 
See  also  Seasons. 

Education  of  Workers,  98-99 ;  rea¬ 
sons  for  leaving  school,  99-100. 

Efficiency,  effect  of  irregular  em¬ 
ployment  on,  65. 

Employees,  see  Workroom  Force. 

Employers,  opinions  as  to  advisibil- 
ity  of  trade  for  girls,  13-14. 

Employment,  extent  of  during  busy 
season,  Boston,  24 ;  Philadel¬ 
phia,  25;  relation  to  nominal 
weekly  wages,  88. 

Experience  in  Trade^  relation  to 
length  of  employment,  57,  59, 
61;  relation  to  nominal  wage, 
89,  90. 

Fall  Season,  length,  44;  employ¬ 
ment  by  weeks  during,  59. 

Fashion  Trade,  as  gauge  of  in¬ 
comes,  8;  effect  on  seasonal 
problem,  16. 


Fatigue,  evil  effects  of,  62-63. 

Forewomen,  length  of  employment 
during  year,  Philadelphia,  55. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  on  employ¬ 
ment  of  women,  1. 

Health  of  Workers,  effect  of  over¬ 
time  on,  59,  62-64. 

High  School  Education,  workers 
with,  99. 

Home  Millinery,  28-30;  character¬ 
istics,  28-29 ;  capital  require¬ 
ments,  29-30;  advantages,  30; 
working  force  during  dull  and 
busy  seasons,  47. 

Home  Parlors,  see  Parlor  Mil¬ 
linery. 

“  Improvers,”  designation,  20 ;  num¬ 
ber  employed  during  busy  sea¬ 
son,  Philadelphia,  25. 

Income,  effects  of  irregularity  of, 
65. 

Incompetency  of  Workers,  17. 

Industrial  Evolution,  as  illus¬ 
trated  in  the  millinery  trade, 
27-43. 

Irregularity  of  Work,  demoraliz¬ 
ing  effects  of,  64-65. 

Irish,  as  millinery  workers,  93-95, 
97,  104. 

Jews,  as  millinery  workers,  93-95, 
97-98. 

Jobber,  business,  40-41. 

Labor  Contract,  right  of  society  to 
limit,  3-4. 

Learning  Trade,  19-20;  ways,  105- 
127 ;  apprenticeship  system, 
105-115. 

Living  Conditions  of  Workers, 


INDEX 


119 


proportion  living  at  home,  14, 
103. 


Makers,  work,  18,  19-21;  demar¬ 
cation  from  trimmers,  23;  num¬ 
ber  employed  during  busy  sea¬ 
son,  Boston,  24 ;  Philadelphia, 
25 ;  opportunity  for  advance¬ 
ment,  26;  in  dull  season,  46; 
extent  of  employment  during 
year,  53-57 ;  by  type  of  estab¬ 
lishment,  Boston,  54;  Philadel¬ 
phia,  55;  by  weeks,  Boston,  56; 
by  months,  57 ;  length  of  em¬ 
ployment  by  seasons,  60;  by 
experience,  61 ;  wages,  Boston 
and  Philadelphia,  71-78;  total 
annual  earnings,  Boston,  72, 
73;  nominal  wages,  Boston  and 
Philadelphia,  73;  Boston,  74; 
Philadelphia,  75;  average 
wages,  Boston,  75,  77,  80;  rate 
of  advance,  91,  92;  proportion 
self-supporting,  101-103. 

Manufacturing  Firms,  number  of 
workers,  Philadelphia,  25 ; 
length  of  employment,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  55 ;  nominal  weekly 
wages,  Philadelphia,  75;  nom¬ 
inal  wages  of  trimmers,  82. 

Manufacturing  Wholesale  Mil¬ 
linery,  seasons,  45;  workroom 
forces  during  dull  and  busy  sea¬ 
sons,  47. 

Markets,  effect  on  millinery  trade, 
27. 

Mechanical  Division,  proportion 
of  workers  in,  26. 

Milliners  as  Teachers,  see 
Classes  Conducted  by  Mil¬ 
liners. 

Millinery  Store,  see  Retail  Shop. 

Millinery  Trade,  definition,  5. 

Minimum  Wage,  relation  to  indus¬ 


trial  education,  4;  for  women 
workers,  71. 

Nationality  of  Workers,  93-95, 
104;  preference  of  employers, 
109. 

Nerve  Strain,  in  connection  with 
busy  season,  59,  62-63. 

Neckwear,  combination  of  with  mil¬ 
linery,  65. 

Night- work,  in  connection  with 
overtime,  62,  63. 

“  Nominal  Weekly  Wage,”  defini¬ 
tion,  69-70.  See  also  Wages. 

Novelties,  combination  of  with  mil¬ 
linery,  65. 

Occupations  of  Workers,  preced¬ 
ing  millinery,  100-101. 

Opportunities  in  Trade,  13-14,  17. 
See  also  Advancement. 

Order  Work,  home  milliner,  29 ; 
parlor  milliner,  31. 

Overtime,  in  rush  season,  44-46,  49 ; 
definition,  62 ;  extent  of,  62 ; 
evils  resulting  from,  62-63 ; 
responsibility  for,  63 ;  reme¬ 
dies,  64. 

Parasitic  Trade,  definition,  12; 
forms  of,  12-13;  millinery,  13- 
14,  104. 

Pay  Rolls.  See  Wages. 

Parlor  Millinery,  number  of  work¬ 
ers,  Boston,  24 ;  Philadelphia, 
25;  characteristics,  30-31; 
clientele,  31;  location,  31-32; 
capital  requirements,  32;  work¬ 
room  force,  33 ;  dull  season 
force,  46;  workroom  force  dur¬ 
ing  dull  and  busy  seasons,  47 ; 
fluctuation  in  force  by  weeks, 
48;  weekly  fluctuation  in  size 
of  force,  50;  length  of  employ- 


120 


INDEX 


ment,  Boston,  54 ;  by  weeks, 
56;  by  months,  57;  wages  of 
apprentices,  71;  annual  earn¬ 
ings  of  workers,  72;  nominal 
weekly  w’ages,  Boston,  74;  av¬ 
erage  wage,  77 ;  nominal  wage 
of  trimmers,  82;  average  wage, 
84,  87. 

Piece  Rate  Wages,  attitude  of 
workers  toward,  69.  See  also 
Wages. 

Pieceworker,  weekly  fluctuation  in 
wages,  78-80;  chart,  79;  pay 
rolls  for  year,  81. 

“  Pin  Money  ”  Theory,  101. 

“  Preparer,”  designation,  20. 

Prostitution,  relation  to  irregular¬ 
ity  of  employment,  64-65. 

Retail  Shops,  number  of  millinery 
workers,  Boston,  24;  Philadel¬ 
phia,  25 ;  distinguishing  fea¬ 
tures,  33;  customers,  34;  types, 
34-35 ;  capital  requirements, 
35;  workroom  force,  35-36; 
dull  season  force,  46 ;  work¬ 
room  force  during  dull  and 
busy  seasons,  47 ;  fluctuation  in 
size  of  force  by  weeks,  48; 
length  of  employment,  Boston, 
54 ;  Philadelphia,  55 ;  employ¬ 
ment  by  weeks,  Boston,  56; 
wages  of  apprentices,  71;  nom¬ 
inal  weekly  wages  of  makers, 
Boston,  74;  Philadelphia,  75; 
average  wage,  Boston,  77 ;  com¬ 
parison  with  wages  of  whole¬ 
sale  houses,  80;  nominal  wages 
of  trimmers,  82;  average,  84. 

Rush  Work,  15;  characteristics, 
45-46;  season  of  greatest,  49. 
See  also  Busy  Season. 

Salesgirls,  employment  in  large 
shops,  26. 


Salesmanship,  as  secondary  oc¬ 
cupation  for  milliners,  66-67. 

Seasonal  Problem,  attempted  solu¬ 
tions,  65-68.  See  also  Dull 
Seasons  and  Unemployment. 

Seasons,  14-15,  44-68;  length,  44- 
45 ;  in  manufacturing  whole¬ 
sale  establishments,  45;  the 
seasons  and  the  trade,  44-51; 
the  seasons  and  the  workers, 
51-68;  dissatisfaction  of  mil¬ 
linery  workers  with,  64;  effect 
on  wages,  69,  78. 

Self-Support,  among  millinery 
workers,  14;  opportunity  for  in 
millinery  trade,  26;  among 
workers,  78,  101-104. 

Shops,  classification  of,  27-43; 
types  of  establishments,  28. 

Social  Prestige,  as  reason  for 
entering  trade,  16-18,  100,  104. 

Speeding  up  Process,  in  rush  sea¬ 
sons,  44-45;  effects  of,  59,  62. 

Spring  Season,  length,  44 ;  em¬ 
ployment  by  weeks,  during,  59. 

Straw  Machine  Operating,  as 
secondary  occupation,  67-68. 

Subsidizing  Workers,  101,  104. 

See  also  Parasitic  Trade. 

Supplementary  Occupations,  dif¬ 
ficulties  in  connection  with, 
65-66,  67-68;  statistics  regard¬ 
ing,  66-67. 

Sweated  Trades,  effect  on  work¬ 
ers,  13. 

Teaching  Millinery,  as  secondary 
occupation,  65,  67.  See  also 
Classes  Conducted  by  Mil¬ 
liners. 

Time  Wages,  see  Wages. 

Trade  Processes,  12-26;  descrip¬ 
tion  of,  18-26;  divisions,  18- 
19. 

Trade  Unions,  early  attitude 


INDEX 


121 


toward  employment  of  women, 

2. 

Trimmers,  work,  19,  21-22;  per 
cent,  of  workroom  force,  23 ; 
number  employed  during  busy 
season,  Boston,  24 ;  Philadel¬ 
phia,  25 ;  length  of  employ¬ 
ment  during  year,  Boston,  54; 
Philadelphia,  55;  by  weeks, 
Boston,  56;  by  months,  57,  58; 
by  seasons,  59,  60;  by  experi¬ 
ence,  57,  61;  wages,  71;  total 
annual  earnings,  Boston,  72; 
wages  of  supervision,  80;  nom¬ 
inal  weekly  wages,  82,  83;  total 
annual  earnings,  83 ;  average 
weekly  wage,  83,  84 ;  varia¬ 
tion  of  wage  by  establishments, 
85-86 ;  average  wage  through¬ 
out  year,  84,  87 ;  relation  of 
employment  to  wage,  88 ;  re¬ 
lation  of  experience  to  wage, 
90;  rate  of  advance,  91;  nom¬ 
inal  wage,  92 ;  age  compared 
with  makers,  95-96 ;  propor¬ 
tion  self-supporting,  101-103. 

Uncertainty,  in  connection  with 
overtime,  63. 

Unemployment,  51-68;  due  to  sea¬ 
sonal  variations,  51;  extent  of 
during  year,  64 ;  attempted 
solution,  65-68;  in  relation  to 
wages,  69.  See  also  Dull 
Seasons. 

Vocational  Education,  importance 
of  for  girls,  4. 

Wages,  69-92;  time  and  piece 
rates,  69 ;  nominal  and  aver¬ 
age  wage,  69-70;  of  appren¬ 
tices,  70,  71,  113,  114;  makers, 
71-73;  nominal  weekly  wages, 


73-76,  88,  89;  average  weekly 
wages,  75-78,  80;  trimmers, 

72,  82-88,  90-92;  piecework¬ 
ers,  79,  81;  relation  of  wages 
to  length  of  employment,  88 ;  to 
length  of  experience,  89, 
90;  to  personal  qualities,  90, 
91. 

Wholesale  Houses,  number  of 
millinery  workers,  Boston,  24; 
Philadelphia,  25 ;  workroom 
force  in  dull  and  busy  sea¬ 
sons,  47 ;  fluctuation  in  size  of, 
48,  53;  length  of  employment, 
Boston,  54 ;  Philadelphia,  55 ; 
employment  by  weeks,  Boston, 
56 ;  by  months,  57 ;  dull  sea¬ 
son  opportunities,  67 ;  wages 
of  apprentices,  71;  annual 
earnings  of  makers,  72;  nom¬ 
inal  weekly  wages,  Boston, 
74;  Philadelphia,  75;  average 
wage,  Boston,  77;  nominal 
weekly  wage  of  trimmers,  82; 
average  wage,  84;  minimum, 
85 ;  average  wage  throughout 
the  year,  87. 

Wholesale  Millinery,  character¬ 
istics,  40,  41;  market,  41;  ad¬ 
vantages,  42-43 ;  workroom 
force,  42;  wholesale  manufac¬ 
turing  millinery,  42-43.  See 
also  Manufacturing  Firms. 

Women  in  Industry,  attitude  of 
public  towards,  1-4 ;  competi¬ 
tion  with  men,  2;  labor  legis¬ 
lation,  2-4 ;  statistics  of  em¬ 
ployment,  5-10;  remedial  legis¬ 
lation,  2-4 ;  effect  of  parasit¬ 
ism  on,  13;  living  wage,  71. 

Working  Season,  Boston  retail  es¬ 
tablishments,  51. 

Workroom  Force,  Boston  and 
Philadelphia  stores,  39-40;  in 
rush  seasons,  45;  in  dull  sea- 


122 


INDEX 


son,  46;  reduction  during  dull 
season,  47 ;  rate  of  reduction, 
47,  49;  weekly  fluctuation  in 
size,  48,  50 ;  in  wholesale 

houses  and  department  stores, 
chart,  52 ;  length  of  employ¬ 
ment,  51. 

Workers,  supply,  17,  68;  propor¬ 
tion  in  technical  and  artistic 


divisions,  22-23 ;  unemploy¬ 
ment  among,  51-68;  national¬ 
ity,  93-95;  age,  95-98;  age  at 
leaving  school,  98-100;  educa¬ 
tion,  98-99;  reasons  for  leaving 
school,  99-100;  previous  occu¬ 
pations,  100-101 ;  self-support, 
101-103;  living  conditions, 
103;  age  at  entering  trade,  112. 


VITA 


I,  Lorinda  Perry,  was  born  in  Melvin,  Illinois,  on  December  23, 
1884.  My  parents  being  Eugene  Beauharnais  Perry  and  Eliza¬ 
beth  Wilson  Perry.  I  attended  the  public  schools  of  Melvin, 
Illinois  (1890-1900),  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University 
(1900-01,  1902-04),  the  University  of  Illinois  (1906-07,  1908- 
10)  and  Bryn  Mawr  College  (1911-13).  I  received  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1909,  and  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
in  1910  from  the  University  of  Illinois.  I  held  a  scholarship  in 
Economics  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  in  1909-10,  the  Radcliffe 
Research  Fellowship  at  the  Women’s  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1910-11,  and  the  resident  fellow¬ 
ship  in  Economics  at  Bryn  Mawr  College  during  the  years  1911- 
13.  During  the  year  1910-11,  Miss  Elizabeth  M.  Riedell  and  I 
were  engaged  in  an  investigation  of  the  millinery  trade  in  Boston 
under  the  supervision  of  Professor  Susan  Myra  Kingsbury, 
director  of  the  Research  Department  of  the  Women’s  Educa¬ 
tional  and  Industrial  Union,  Boston,  Massachusetts.  I  also  at¬ 
tended  a  seminar  of  Dean  Edwin  Francis  Gay  at  Radcliffe 
College.  During  1911-12,  the  Consumers’  League  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  carried  on  an  investigation  of  the  millinery  trade  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  under  my  direction.  It  was  my  privilege  to  study  at  the 
University  of  Illinois  with  Dean  David  Kinley,  Professor  Evarts 
Boutell  Greene  and  Professor  James  Wilford  Garner,  and  at  Bryn 
Mawr  College  with  Professor  Marion  Parris  Smith,  Professor 
William  Roy  Smith  and  Mr.  Sydney  D.  M.  Hudson.  I  presented 
myself  for  the  written  and  oral  examinations  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  May,  1913,  my  major  subject  being 
Economics,  my  minor  subjects  Political  Science  and  American 
History. 

I  wish  to  express  to  Dean  Kinley,  Professor  Greene  and  Pro¬ 
fessor  Garner  my  appreciation  of  the  inspiration  and  stimulus 


VITA 


which  they  have  been  to  me  in  my  work.  I  wish  to  acknowledge 
m.v  indebtedness  and  gratitude  to  Professor  Kingsbury  who  sug¬ 
gested  the  subject  of  this  study,  and  has  given  assistance  and 
criticism  most  generously;  to  the  Consumers’  League  of  Penn 
sylvania,  whose  investigations  have  added  much  to  the  value  of 
this  study;  and  especially  to  Professor  Marion  Parris  Smith  for 
pertinent  criticism,  valuable  suggestions,  and  timely  encourage- 


HBnE'.i 


. 


' 


1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  064641050 


